


I Should've Kissed You Longer

by jishfish



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Acting, Alternate Universe, Dating, Domestic Fluff, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Falling In Love, Fluff, Idiots in Love, Living Together, M/M, Making Out, Mutual Pining, Nervousness, Not Actually Unrequited Love, Rich Tyler, Rumors, Secret Crush, Sharing a Bed, Slow Burn, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, but who says that tyler knows that, homophobic rumors, josh isnt an actor he just needs the money, photographer josh, theres like a lot of kissing, they both think its unrequited
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2019-03-30
Packaged: 2019-07-10 12:39:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 25,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15949526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jishfish/pseuds/jishfish
Summary: Tyler really needs Josh and Josh really needs this job.Tyler Joseph is the founder and CEO of a hair dye company that's well on it's way to being one of the biggest in the country. After a few homophobic rumors blow up on twitter, it seems that the only way to prove everyone wrong and save his reputation is to pretend to be gay and date a guy.Or at least that's what Jenna says.





	1. A Problem And A Plan

The blonde woman paced, her black heels clicking against the hard wood of the floor. Her head was craned down, eyes furiously scanning her phone, a manicured nail dragging across the screen as she scrolled further down the page.

Tyler was slumped against the black leather of one of the couches that was pushed up against the wall. They almost never got used and the smell of dusty furniture polish was making his throat burn. His office, while designed for business meetings and casual discussion, was rarely inhabited by more than one or two people, causing it to quickly become Tyler's work space.

He rubbed his hands up and down his face, leaving his palms to dig into the sockets of his skull and press against his eyes. "We're  _so_  screwed, Jenna." He groaned, his voice hoarse and defeated. His hands came to pull at his dry brown hair, anxiety flooding his veins as he sat up.

The structured walls of his life that had taken years for him to cultivate seemed to be shaking and edging closer and closer to destruction with the very vibrations of Jenna's words, her high pitched voice attempting to poke at his mind for him to focus.

"Maybe it's not as bad as it seems right now." She suggested, keeping her eyes on her phone. She hadn't stopped pacing and had actually resigned to chewing on one of her nails as her eyes read over the threads and responses again, only removing her finger from her mouth to tap the screen or scroll a little further down just to wedge it back between her teeth.

"You're fucking high if you think this isn't bad." Tyler scoffed.

The blonde finally stopped, her eyes immediately landing on her boss's dismissive form. She walked over to him. "Listen, I'm not saying that it isn't bad." She said as she sat down next to him, her black trousers stretching at the strain. "What I am saying, is that if we work quickly, we might actually be able to salvage your reputation within the day."

Tyler stood up, shocked at her optimism. "Are you kidding me? Have you seen what everyone's been saying about me? About the entire company?" He turned around, going behind his mahogany desk and beginning to tap on his laptop.

"Honey, yes I have. It's right here. It's kinda why you pay me." She faked a smile, shaking her phone in her hand.

Tyler's eyes remained glued to his screen, paying her no mind. He suddenly turned it to face her, pushing the laptop across the desk with finality. She leaned over regardless, already having a good idea of what was on there.

A twitter thread spanning the length of the screen and onwards was displayed against the bright white screen. Tyler read along with Jenna what had started this morning's mess.

**_@ spencerelking_ **

_look, i stan @tylerrjoseph just as much as the next guy for his ads and all the poc he uses but,,, the story arcs are all kinda the same like we get it hot guy meets hot girl and they fall in love but like?? wheres my gay boy whose scared to dye his hair alone and his best bro crush helps him do it??_

**_@ heloo_megoon_ **

_and my lesbian girls giggling and brushing dye through each others hair?? where are my gay hair dye commercials!!! where are they!!!!!!!_

The first tweets were silly and harmless enough. Just a few opinions that become popular on social media and blow up. But it only went downwards from there. The two scrolled together as they saw the conversation slowly sour as claims began to be tossed about around the reasons  _why_  there weren't any gay actors used in his advertising.

Sure, he could've kept a closer eye on it, but in all honesty Tyler didn't really _care_  about who was in his ads; that was what Jenna was for. She was in charge of his inclusive design campaigns and making sure him and his brand were always in good standing with the public. As long as they could act well enough for 30 seconds and looked good with bright colors on their heads, Tyler really couldn't be bothered with the actor's personal life.

On and on it went, replies of agreement and sudden realizations of the same notion that Tyler had never noticed in his commercials— he really had made no statement whatsoever about anything LGBT related. Ever. Which, at least that the businessman had noticed, had never really been a problem before, even with other celebrities. That only added to his confusion of why this was suddenly happening to  _him._

Jenna leaned back, her hand still on the mousepad. She eyed him warily. "Jeez, this isn't even the worst of it. You haven't seen any of the major gossip accounts yet or-" A loud ping of a phone distracted her, causing her to immediately go reach in her pocket.

The screen illuminated her face and cast weak shadow of the strands that had come loose from her tight ponytail. Her eyes widened with fear. "Oh shit." She whispered. "It gets worse."

Tyler gripped the leather arm of the couch and held his breath in anticipation. What could it possibly be now?

Jenna's eyes lifted to meet his. "Tyler, you have to make a statement  _now_."

He furrowed his brows, sitting up and trying to read what was on her phone, only for her to press the screen to her chest.

"W-What why, why do I have to do it now?" He sputtered, his breathing shallow.

Jenna's voice was gentle and she was cautious with her words, attempting to push away the anxiety that was building within both of their chests. " _Odd. Cosmetics._ " She spoke slowly, far too calmly.

"What?" Tyler whimpered, tired and frustrated and just wishing she would be blunt with him. Rip the bandaid off quickly. "What about them?"

"Ty, I know you aren't a homophobe and I would never assume something so negative about you. But we need to make a statement now and we need to think it through carefully so we don't mess this up."

Tyler's forehead was covered in deeply etched ridges of confusion. "Why?"

She took a deep breath. "Ryan Ross is asking."

She kept her voice level as she eyed him carefully. "He says that until you make a public statement, he's postponing our next meeting." Jenna had leaned her slender body away from him, waiting for Tyler to blow up from the new information.

 _Odd. Cosmetics_  was one of the biggest makeup companies in the country and had become extremely popular in recent years. Celebrities of high status had been donning their shades of lipstick and dusting their shimmer on their cheekbones at high class events and award shows. They had showered dozens of people on several platforms with brand deals to promote their variety of pigmented, exclusive colors and Tyler and Jenna had watched as a fellow 'self-made company' grew to success.

 _Odd._  was known for it's inclusivity and the expression of individuality, their packaging and image constantly preaching it, so when they had reached out to another (at least previously thought of as) inclusive beauty company like Tyler's; they couldn't pass the opportunity up. And now, they were currently in the middle of a pending merger with one of the most well-known makeup companies in the world, only to be told by their CEO that it would be postponed after a rumor on twitter became popular.

The already agonizingly slow process of becoming officially partnered with another company was shitty enough, but for it all to come to a grinding halt because of random online speculation didn't help the situation.

Frustration that was simmering in the back of Tyler's mind was suddenly brought to the forefront. His shrunken body suddenly straightened as he rubbed a hand harshly against his face. Anger flashed within his eyes and across his features as he sat up.

"Why!" He yelled. "Why would he ask that from me over something as stupid as this! Who gives a shit about what these kids on twitter say-"

Jenna raised her arms to meet his shoulders, pushing him back down in his seat, as he had slowly gotten up as he spoke. "Tyler." She said firmly. He brought his wide eyes to look at her again and she sighed. "Ross said that to me because this thing has blown up. Everyone is talking about it and its starting to get to bigger sources. Actual online journalists are putting their thoughts into this. Do you have any idea what they're saying, Tyler?"

He didn't look at her, afraid that he might have an inkling of what it was. Jenna kept a hard stare towards him. "They think you're homophobic."

Tyler inhaled to speak again but Jenna was quick to cut him off. "This is getting out of hand so I don't blame Ross for not wanting to be affiliated with us for the time being. It's all just rumors. For now. But we need to say something before it gets worse."

The brunet leaned back, his usual mild and composed eyes were tired spiderwebs of red and flushing pink. A heavy breath left his body before he dragged his gaze up to Jenna. "Well, do you have a plan?"

Jenna shifted, keeping her eyes down as she tried to hide the smile on her lips. The look on her face was terrifying as she flicked up her eyes to his. "I think we could see this as an opportunity."

Tyler was instantly put on alert at her sudden change in tone and demeanor, his eyebrows furrowing.

Jenna finally let a grin take over her face as she spoke. "It's been brought to our attention that we haven't made a statement about gay rights.  _So_ , why don't we make one?"

Tyler stared at her blankly. His mouth was agape and eyes in bewilderment. "What the fuck are you talking about? Can't you ever be straightforward about anything-"

"What if we got you a boyfriend?"

He quickly shut up at that. "What?"

Jenna shifted in her seat, getting comfortable as she began to get excited at the prospect of getting her best friend a date after  _who knows_  how long. "Listen, people are gonna poke holes in whatever we say regardless. What really speaks is  _actions_."

"That's ridiculous." Tyler stood, rubbing his temples. He couldn't hear anymore of whatever Jenna thought this was, because _a plan_  it certainly was not.

"Tyler..." Jenna pleaded, going to follow him as he opened up his desk drawer to merely have something to do instead of listen to her. She shut it promptly as she caught up to him.

"People want proof. Rumors, bad ones,  _business ending ones_ have already been sparked from 'what these kids on twitter say.'" Jenna leaned her palm against the desk, her best friend refusing to make eye contact with her. "We still have time to fix this, Tyler and if we do it my way, we could even make our company bigger by doing it."

Tyler groaned as she said that, grabbing the mug of coffee on his desk, taking huge glugs of it as he crossed the room in attempts to get away from her, but to no avail.

"If we got you a boyfriend," She continued, "-not only are these rumors gonna be immediately proven wrong, but we could boost sales by promoting our business as being pro LGBTQ." She explained, as if it was going to be even remotely easy.

Tyler set his coffee cup down abruptly with a hard knock against wood, taking deep breaths as he tried to reason with her. "Okay, fine. Let's say that I am even entertaining this idea. How do you expect to find me a boyfriend by tomorrow? One that's okay with having their time wasted by being in a fake relationship for however long this shitshow is supposed to last, _and_ being in the public eye constantly?"

Jenna smiled sweetly. "I'll handle that." She reassured. "I'll find you an innocent looking guy, fabricate a story tonight that'll last til' this whole thing blows over, then we can come up with a reason for you to cut him loose." She said simply.

"So you expect me to lie?"

Jenna shrugged. "Lie about what?"

"Being interested in him. Romantically."

She scoffed. "Tyler, you know I love you, but you're even less discreet than me when it comes to checking out guys."

Tyler shook his head at her, already forgetting her comment. "Do you think I could lie about being in a relationship when I'm really  _not in one_  is what I'm saying. And do you think we could even find a guy that could act that well anyways?"

The blonde glared at him. "We live in Los Angeles, this city is overrun with wannabe actors in need of a job. Besides, this isn't some Shakespearean play, dipshit. It's holding hands in public."

He couldn't think of anymore arguments. He was tired and he needed a solution as soon as possible. This seemed to be the only one present. He sighed. "Do you really think this will work?" He asked softly.

Her smile was bordering on a smirk as she crossed her dainty arms, nails flaring on her long fingers. "Trust me, I've got this. I already have someone in mind."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ive had this concept written up for over three years and im finally making it real


	2. A Friend (Of a Friend)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was so scared no one was gonna like this but a lot of you have been?? so nice?? so heres another chpt

The sun flushed the blonde girl's skin a hot red as she sighed stubbornly, her thin white clothing not helping her whatsoever in the blinding heat.

The eyes of the dark haired man she was talking to were dull, sleep lingering heavily on his eyelids as he leaned against the doorframe of his house. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his pajamas, his mussed up hair falling over his face.

"No." He said dully, his voice just as enthusiastic as the rest of his persona seemed to be at the moment. His clothing was crumpled and creased with exhaustion, alcohol still clinging to his breath.

"Come on, Brendon!" Jenna whined, trying her best to refrain from stomping her foot in frustration on the tile of his front landing. "I need your help and you  _owe me_  after what happened in Puerto Rico."

The man's eyes glazed in confusion as he ran a hand through his tangled bed head. "What happened in Puerto Rico?"

_"Exactly."_

Brendon's tired eyes squinted at the ripe sunlight breaking through the palm trees lining the pathway to his home, his hand coming up to shield his face. His head was obviously pounding from a headache with the way his body was slouched against his house in a desperate attempt at balance and escape from the sun. Jenna thought it was most likely from a hangover even though it was a Wednesday afternoon.

"Look, I'm not gonna be Tyler's boyfriend. I don't wanna be associated with someone like him after what came out today. I know he's your best friend and all, but if anyone hears that I'm trying to help him, it won't look good for me and  _my_ clients." Brendon's lazy socked feet began to draw away from the entrance, but Jenna's sharp arm jutted out to grab the door before he had a chance to close it.

"Brendon, that's exactly why I need your expertise! I've asked thirteen different,  _actually legitimate_ , agencies today for someone that would agree to my terms and keep it under wraps and they've all turned me down." She huffed, running her hand through her trimmed blond hair that was dampening with sweat.

Brendon rolled his eyes, waving one of his hands around. "Have you ever thought that maybe the reason no one wants to agree to your fucking plan is because its stupid and  _crazy_?"

Jenna dismissed him immediately, not letting him shake her focus.  _"You're an acting coach._ Can't you at least give me the names of a few promising students?" She begged.

The tired man listened reluctantly as he let her fill his chest with pity. He rolled his eyes again, blowing out a breath. Jenna didn't ask for favors often, and when she did they were often something a little weird, but never as ridiculous as this. He really just wanted to make her happy so she would leave him alone and let him sleep his migraine away.

Jenna continued. "I'll even pay them for it, whatever they want! I'm ready to take a random guy off the streets to do this, Brendon  _please_."

Silence wavered around them as Jenna's desperate eyes shot right through his chest. The tall man rubbed at his temples before bringing his eyes back to the girl at his doorstep. He swore under his breath.

_"Okay look, he's not a student but..."_

The girl's face instantly brightened with hope at his quiet words. A heavy sigh left Brendon as his weak barriers crumbled far too easily, caving. "I've got a friend who just moved here. He's in school right now so he's broke, he'll probably be willing to do the job for you. He could definitely use the money."

Jenna's eyes sunk in relief, her shoulders relaxing and deep breaths making her body lighter. Brendon reached around in his pants before coaxing out a few worn paper cards. He handed her the oldest looking one from his pocket, their fingers brushing as the tall man smiled.

_"His name's Josh."_

• • •

The business card was easily concise and the background held what could've been a dimly lit city. Tyler might've been able to make out the few lines that were typed at the top if the card wasn't creased in so many places. The only things that were even legible were the phone number and email at the bottom.

"What're his credentials?" Tyler asked, his brown eyes focused. 

The girl's arms were crossed as she stood at the man's chair. "Brendon said that he's a guy who needs the money and not from around here, so he won't be recognized."

Tyler made a noise of disgust, his eyes going up to meet Jenna's with complaining eyes. "You got this guy from  _Brendon?_  Your trashy clubbing buddy who's 90% alcohol and hits on me every time he comes over?"

Jenna's voice was stern, disinterested in any of the words that left her friend's mouth, no matter how accurate they might've been. "I really don't think it should matter who I got him from since this is the first legitimate candidate we've found. And since you're going on a date with whoever we pick  _tonight_  I suggest we go with him."

If Tyler had had a drink, he would've spit it out at that moment. "Wait, what do you mean  _a date?_  No one said anything about a date." His eyes flickered with anxiousness, thin fingers gripping the edges of his desk.

Jenna's eyebrows furrowed. "What did I say, Tyler?  _Actions._  You guys are supposed to be  _dating_ you obviously have to go on  _dates_ with him, idiot."

Tyler's eyes were wide as he tried to hide the pooling panic in them. "Well you didn't say it'd be so soon!"

Jenna came closer to him, her eyes growing more serious. "Ross said he needed an official statement in 24 hours. You go on the date, leave people in shock as they see photos of you and him out together online, then you can calm the storm by tweeting and 'coming out.' It'll stop the rumors in their tracks and we'll be in control of what they see from then on."

Tyler sometimes hated how she made everything seem so simple, like consequences or differing opinions didn't exist. She never seemed to experience a lapse in her belief that everything would turn out fine, and maybe that's why Tyler really believed in her.

Jenna came in closer, his worried eyes meeting her's. She laid a hand against Tyler's shoulder, holding it carefully. "You trust me, don't you?"

He nodded. Jenna sighed. "We're losing time, Tyler. I'm sorry this is going so fast, and that this is out of your comfort zone but if we don't do this we could lose everything."

The brunet rubbed his eyes, his breath steadying. "I know. That's why I'm scared." He whispered.

Jenna quickly wrapped her arms around the man tightly, Tyler instantly coming up and hugging her back. The blonde girl rubbed his back softly, Tyler sighing. Jenna smiled as she pulled away, holding him by his shoulders.

"We're gonna be okay. When have I ever let you down, huh?" She smiled. "We  _got this_."

She grinned widely at him, her blue eyes reassuring. Tyler couldn't help but mirror her.

"You ready to call him?" She gestured to the card that was still in his hand.

Tyler looked down and took a deep breath.

_Well, here goes nothing._


	3. First Impressions

Brendon was relaxed as he lounged across the stiff brown couch in his friend's apartment, his nonchalant words a weak attempt at filling in the dry cracks of anxiety within the man who was pacing in front of him. The nervous man was lucky he even had any room to walk in since the area they were in was small and dim, moving boxes littering any open space in the vicinity.

"Dude, you should be thanking me. You got here a week ago and I already got your career on the right track."

"What the hell were you thinking!" The man yelled, his voice harsh and bright with anger. Large hands flared around from nerves that were almost shot.

"Josh, I got you a good gig with a hot millionaire, why're you mad?" Brendon's lazy voice set off a spark of anger to flare within Josh's throat as he brought his eyes to the man laying across his couch.

 _"Why am I mad?"_ Josh's voice had suddenly became dark as his eyes remained set in disbelief. " _Oh I don't know_ , maybe I'm mad because, without asking me, my asshole of a friend set me up with a job as some sort of undercover actor when I'm not even an actual actor!"

"You  _are_  an actor!" Brendon countered.

"The high school play senior year, doesn't count!" Josh yelled. His face was splattered pink, the veins in his neck prominent as heavy breaths scraped past his windpipe. The aggravation that filled him slowly simmered away, a swift feeling of dread rising to the surface. "Jesus Christ, Bren what were you thinking?"

His eyes eased into despondency as Brendon stood, huffing out a breath.

"I'm sorry, man. I know you're a bit unexperienced but. It's just hard to make a living out here."

Josh looked up at him as his friend suddenly became more serious. "I've seen kids with dreams just as big as yours get crushed and be left with nothing. I didn't want that to happen to you." Brendon shrugged. "I'm sorry. I figured it wouldn't hurt too much to try and help you out a bit."

The dark hair of the man flopped over his eyes as he lowered his head. Josh weaved a hand in his own head of curls, taking a deep breath. "It's alright." He breathed.

Brendon smiled at that, his hand coming up to hold Josh's shoulder, chuckling. "I only gave them the business card you used to use when you did photoshoots a few years ago. It's just got your number and email on it. They might not even call."

Air slowly made it's way into the curly haired man's lungs again as he nodded. Finally, some legitimate reassurance that Brendon's actions wouldn't result in something terrible. 

And then the phone rang.

Immediately, both pairs of eyes shot in the direction of where Josh's phone rested on the kitchen counter, screen lit up and a relentless buzzing echoing loudly against the wood.

Brendon's eyes met Josh's in a panic, already eating his words.

"Shit!" Josh's voice was sharp as he forced his body towards the phone, stumbling over flimsy brown boxes in his rush. As soon as the phone was in his grip, Brendon was right behind him reading the screen:

**Unknown Number**

The same wide eyed look spread across both men's faces as Josh's hand continued to buzz, seconds of opportunity going by.

"It might not even be him!" Brendon scoffed, seeming grounded for a moment.

Josh's worried breath caught in his throat as his thumb hovered over ' _answer'._ He closed his eyes as he pressed the green icon, holding the phone up to his ear.

"Hello?"  He grumbled into the receiver as his raven haired friend held his hands behind his head.

" _Good afternoon!_   _This is Jenna, an associate of Tyler Joseph from_ Undertone Hair Color & Beauty.  _Is this Joshua Dun?"_ A sweet voice crackled into the man's ear. Josh turned around to face Brendon, mouthing the girl's name to him in question. His friend's eyes got bigger as he nodded his head.

Josh breathed deeply. "Y-Yes this is him."

The girl's voice returned in his ear.  _"Well, my boss, Tyler Joseph, would like to offer you a job here. Short term but well paying. If you're interested, we can meet and you could start as soon as tonight."_

Josh pulled the sleeves of his brown sweater further down his palms as his eyes widened. "I-I actually never really a-applied for anything. My, my friend might've-"

The girl on the phone cut him off quickly.  _"I'm sorry, sir. I seem to have forgotten to inform you of the urgency of the matter. We need this position to be filled as soon as possible. So if you are interested please do say so."_

Josh was silent, his eyes looking towards Brendon.

"Um, how much would this job pay?" Josh was suddenly a bit more even, a spark of intrigue flashing in his voice.

_"This position would last around two to three months with the typical rate being around a few hundred per event. However, Mr. Joseph is willing to go to $2,000 a day for you if that's what will get you to accept this position."_

The words and numbers ran through Josh's mind quickly, rolling around wild amounts of money in his head and completely disregarding whatever 'events' she could've been talking about. Brendon eyebrows furrowed as he saw the unbelievable look on his friend's face. "What is it?"

Josh covered the bottom half of his phone with his hand, a hushed whisper replacing the voice he just had. "They're willing to pay me like $200,000 if I work for them for three months!"

He could practically see the dollar signs roll up like a slot machine in Brendon's eyes as the man smiled devilishly. "Well shit, if you aren't taking it then I am."

Josh brought the phone back up to his ear.

"Can you tell Mr. Joseph that I'm interested?"

• • •

Jenna leaned against the the delicate black handrail of the staircase, her elbows draped over the edge casually as Tyler paced in the entryway to his house. The brunet's Italian shoes tapped away at the dark wood and thin fingers rubbed at the edges of his face.

"Tyler, just get over it. He's gonna be here any minute." Jenna said, sounding tired of Tyler's complaining already. He was gonna have to get over how outlandish the nature of this situation was eventually.

He groaned loudly. "I can't believe you! You seriously invited that guy over without telling me?" 

"Oh, calm down. All we're going to do is meet him. And I would stop calling him 'that guy' if I were you. He's probably gonna be your boyfriend in an hour."

Tyler brought his sulking eyes to the ground, muttering something along the lines of  _'boyfriend, my ass.'_

The blonde girl scoffed quietly as the ornate melody of the doorbell echoed around them.

The two of them immediately straightened up their posture at the sound, smoothing out their clothing and taking deep breaths. Tyler's face immediately shut down cold, a polished air suddenly lifting his chest up. His stance held one of business even while his heart began beating erratically, nervousness spreading through his chest.

The tall man's eyes flicked to Jenna's, a plea of either reassurance or to back out of her plan entirely. She only gave him a short nod before he walked over and grasped the door handle. He stopped before opening it.

"Just so you know, I'm still against this whole thing. It's freaking ridiculous."

The blonde girl barely had any time to roll her eyes before the door was opened wide and a well dressed man with a pompous, gelled hairdo stepped inside, only a grand smile stretched across his face. "Hey, good lookin'." He grinned to Tyler.

"Hi, Brendon." Tyler sighed before bringing his eyes to the stranger that was still standing outside.

A wrinkled white button up thinly covered the shivering man's pale skin, a tenseness freezing up his shoulders. His eyes were drawn to the ground and hands clasped together in search of warmth.

Light of the golden hour before the sun finally went to rest shone across the man's face, causing a delicate halo to surround his frame. The gentle wind rustled the man's hazel curls as his eyes dragged up to meet Tyler's.

Tyler's breath caught in his throat as their eyes connected. All of the authoritative air holding up his chest suddenly dissipated as warm, gentle eyes of coffee peered up at him.

His intentions to come off as coldly as he wished somehow disappeared from his mind as he looked at the man, like a mist had fogged up his brain. A deflated posture and eyes the size of moons had replaced the businessman within seconds.

"Hi." The stranger's voice was deep and soft and Tyler could feel his chest cave.

"H-Hello." Tyler stuttered quietly. The brunet stood frozen, keeping his hand on the curved smooth metal of the doorknob. His blood went cold, stomach twisting.

"No, Jenna I can't do this." Tyler's voice was almost a whine. He backed away from the door dizzily, eyebrows furrowed with worry.

" _Tyler..._ " Jenna's voice was stern as she followed his retreating footsteps to the kitchen. Brendon quickly ushered the other man inside, shutting the door behind him.

Tyler rubbed a hand across his face. Someone like  _him_  was certainly not what he expected to see in his house today. He couldn't handle something like this,  _someone_  like this. He figured Jenna would choose someone that was more of the model type to get the paparazzi to really go wild. Not someone whose innocent eyes would practically make your heart fall out of your chest at the sight of them.

Tyler quickly regained his senses and whipped back around to the girl behind him, hiding himself behind the marble counter. "Jenna, I can't handle this, I can't lie like this to the public, to  _everyone."_

Tyler ran his hand through his hair, his eyes growing wide at a sudden realization. "Have you even thought about how  _my parents_ are gonna react? They're gonna have to find out that one of their kids is 'gay' from the tabloids and not their actual son. They're gonna be pissed and they're gonna kill me!" He yelled, his arms waving about madly.

His attire was becoming more and more disheveled the longer he let himself overthink, his coat halfway off his shoulder and dress shirt beginning to untuck. Tyler let his hands get stuck at his hairline again, his eyes darting back and forth. "I mean, we don't even know this guy, he could be a criminal or a psychopath or something!" Tyler was exasperated, rolling his eyes as the two men walked in. Both of their eyes were cautious but the man clinging to Brendon's side was more scared than anything.

Jenna held her arms out, hovering her hands above the brunet's shoulders, attempting to ground him. Her voice suddenly was softer, her eyes gentle.

"Tyler, please. Chill out.  _Just_   _trust me_. He's just a college student. He needs the money for tuition so he won't snitch, he's had experience in acting, he's not from around here so we don't have to worry about him being recognized, and I mean _look at him!"_  She gestured with her arm towards the stunned man in front of them.

"He's practically the boy next door."

The man with wide eyes gave Tyler the slightest awkward smile, and Tyler couldn't believe how easily he found himself wanting to smile back (which he almost,  _almost_ did) but he quickly straightened up his posture. His breathing was shallow, but mind beginning to calm.

He couldn't deny how the media would easily fall in love with this guy and his shy demeanor. Hell, Tyler had almost tripped out the door when he saw him. Everything about the man held a degree of softness to it, from the shape of his nose and eyes to the way his shoulders were nervously pointed inward.

Jenna could sense the apprehension of everyone in the room, so she was gentle with her words. She turned to the dark haired man. "Is it alright if we ask you a few questions?"

The man nodded quickly. "Of course."

Tyler finally dragged his eyes up to meet his. "What's your name?"

The curly haired man's eyes flicked to Jenna before meeting Tyler's. "Josh. I'm Joshua Dun." He spoke with a timidness on the edge of his voice.

Tyler took a step closer, sizing him up. "What's your major?"

Josh blinked quickly, his breath faltering. "W-What?"

Tyler tried to ignore how his heart softened at Josh's stutter. "You're a college student. What's your major?"

His gaze went to the ground for a moment. "Ph-Photography."

 _Fuck._  He even had endearing interests the public would love. Even Tyler couldn't deny how well Josh fit the role. But that doesn't mean he'd admit it. Instead, Tyler furrowed his brows at him.

He cocked his head at the man. "I'm hiring you to act. And you're telling me you're a photography major?"

Josh's eyes darted back and forth, his hands fumbling. "Um, w-well I'm actually minoring in that, my-my major is acting yes."

"So you chose someone who doesn't know the difference between a major and a minor, Jenna?" Tyler called out to the woman behind him, not taking his eyes off of Josh. He didn't know why he was being so hard on the man, he looked about ready to collapse. But maybe Tyler just enjoyed having the upper hand.

"Leave him alone, Tyler!" Jenna slapped his arm. "He's nervous."

Tyler turned to her. "Jen, come on. Are we seriously doing this? I thought you were gonna hire a  _real_ actor, not just some college kid." Tyler gestured to the curly haired man.

"I mean," Tyler turned to Josh, an accusatory tone in his voice. "When was the last time you even had a job? As an actor?"

Josh's voice was soft and his eyes were flooded with anxiety. Brendon stood close protectively, keeping his eyes on the two arguing people in front of them. "Um, h-high school."

Tyler's eyes widened.  _"High school!"_  He turned to Jenna again. "No, you can't seriously expect me to go along with this, Jenna."

The blonde girl's eyes were blazing with fury. "Our sales are gonna  _plummet,_ Tyler! We're losing public standing as the hours go by! We're running out of time before these rumors officially ruin us. We're doing this, and we need to do it  _now_."

Josh stood still, his heartbeat in his ears. He had barely said more than a few words, but still couldn't help wanting Tyler's acceptance. He needed this just as much as Tyler seemed to. Brendon was right to help him. There was no way he was gonna be able to live  _and_ go to school without this boost. The curly haired man looked frantically between the two people in front of him.

Tyler's eyes flicked to Josh's. "You're not a murderer?"

Josh's lips were pressed together as he shook his head  _no._  Tyler sighed.

_"Well, I'm in if you are then."_


	4. Public

Everyone had moved to one of the many living areas in Tyler's estate. They were currently sat in an expensive, cushiony couch that was snug in its dark wood framing that matched the floor. Jenna stood in front of the three men, a smile on her face and excitement glimmering in her eyes. She took a deep breath, the same coolness that Tyler first possessed before he met Josh filled her up proudly.

"I'm glad you've decided to work with us, and we appreciate that you're willing to begin a very...  _different_ job on such a short notice." She said with a smile towards Josh.

"We have only a few hours before I want you guys to be out in the public eye, so I'll be brief. I'll have an official contract written up by the end of the week but the basics you need to know for now is that this relationship will be purely professional, you will be payed on a monthly basis, and in order to minimize as much speculation as possible, you will be living with Tyler in his estate."

Tyler jolted beside Brendon. "Wait, he's gonna live  _here_? We never talked about that." The brunet looked to Josh. "No offense."

_"None taken._ " Josh muttered under his breath, but his face showed that he certainly wasn't aware of that part of the deal either.

Tyler tried not to roll his eyes. "But-"

Jenna put her hand out to stop him. "No but's. People will notice if you guys go home to different houses every night. He's staying."

Her eyes shifted back to welcoming happiness and she redirected her attention back to Josh. "For now, you guys have some time to get ready for your first date as a couple. Tyler, show Josh to your room." She gestured with her hand.

Both men were surprised at that.

Jenna smirked at each of the boys' hesitance. "I already have some semi-formal attire for both of you to wear tonight. They're laid out on Tyler's bed."

Tyler breathed deeply and stood. He looked to Josh, gesturing with his head to follow him.

Josh walked behind him up the grand stairwell, head tipping up to admire the curved chandelier that had yellow lightbulbs screwed into it's frame. The entire house was a sharp white inside and out, with accents of ebony either in the form of wood or marble. Spacious hallways were carved out on either side of the staircase they were on, hallways dark.

The curly haired man had never been in area so elegant in his life, and he'd only seen two rooms. However, as soon as he had walked up the front steps of the modern masterpiece that was Tyler's home, he knew that there was no way he would ever be able to afford anything remotely close to it.

Tyler opened the first door in the hallway up to reveal a master bedroom that was practically the size of Josh's tiny apartment. The outer walls were thick glass windows that overlooked Los Angeles, the city lights twinkling against the hazy purple landscape. A large desk was set up against one of the windows, the computer monitor on it dark, but bouncing with  _Tyler's MacBook_  on the screen.

There was a king size bed made of thick dark wood pushed up against one of the few white walls in the room. It had sharp, wooden edges on the bed frame that held the mattress and Josh thought about how many times he would probably hit his leg on it in the morning if he had a bed like that.

Laid out on the white comforter were two pairs of slacks and dress shirts that were practically identical in their creamy white color. It had Josh wondering when Jenna found the time to figure out his size.

Two ties were lying beside both outfits, one was a dark midnight blue, the other black. Tyler wordless took the smaller black ensemble into his hands before looking at Josh.

"You can change in here. I'll meet you downstairs." His words were cold and he kept his eyes down, already walking away as he spoke.

Tyler shut the door behind him jarringly, leaving Josh alone with a rapid heartbeat.

• • •

At 7:00 sharp, Tyler knocked on his bedroom door. Josh hadn't showed up downstairs and Tyler was more than willing to just call the whole thing off if Josh was just gonna stay holed up in his room, but Jenna told him to at least give him until the hour.

Tyler knew he would be nervous for tonight with everything riding on this, but certainly not as nervous as Josh seemed to be. A harsh clatter came from inside the room, the door swinging open suddenly.

Josh's face was a strained pink and his eyes were wide, stress wavering in his heavy breaths. "HI!" He practically yelled in Tyler's face before turning back around and going back inside the room, leaving the door open.

Tyler walked in cautiously, fear flooding his chest. "Uh Josh?" He spoke quietly.

Josh's hair was a mess as he paced back and forth, his tie hung around his neck loosely and undone. He paced back and forth, running his hands through his knotted curly hair in a panic, keeping his eyes towards the ground. "I- I'm sorry, Mr. Joseph but I don't think I can do this." His breathing was shallow as he spoke.

Tyler was taken aback at the way Josh had addressed him, noticing that this was the first time he had ever really called him by any name.

"I have no idea what I'm supposed to do, I don't know how to _fake_  this!" Josh continued. "What if they see right through us, I mean I haven't acted since _high school_ for christ's sake! What'll we do then?"

Concern pulsed through Tyler's heart, his feet carrying him towards the overwhelmed man. Tyler had  _no idea_  what he was doing, but he immediately reached for Josh, his hands coming to rest on the man's shoulders. The brunet's wild, red eyes met Tyler's, his face startled and scared. 

"Hey, hey breathe okay? You're not breathing." Tyler's voice was kind and soft, hating seeing the poor kid so panicked over this. "Look at me, look at me." He placed a hand against Josh's jaw comfortingly, his fingers brushing against the man's scruff. He pet his jaw softly and kept his eyes on Josh, calm and willing him to make eye contact.

Tyler wasn't thinking, only letting his body react on its own accord, but he knew he wasn't supposed to be doing this. He shouldn't be touching him so much, especially because he didn't have to. They weren't in public, but Tyler had been through panic like this only hours before Josh had arrived and he knew how overwhelming the heaviness of the situation was. They had one shot. If they messed it up they were done for.

There was also something about the fact that it was  _Josh_  who was vulnerable that made Tyler want to protect him from all of the bad he could experience. He was a broke college kid being thrown into the world of scandal and fame, of course he would be freaking out.

Tyler had to physically will himself not to press their foreheads together (at least he was sensible enough to know that that would be too much too soon), but all he felt was an overwhelming need to comfort Josh. He was supposed to be in a relationship with the man after all, so maybe this feeling of protection wouldn't be such a bad thing for them, Tyler thought.

Josh let his reddening eyes meet Tyler's and the businessman finally let words he'd been keeping behind his teeth come out.

_"Just pretend it's like a real date then."_

The panicked man's eyes calmed, then twisted up in confusion.

Tyler took a deep breath, trying to think about how he should word his idea. "If you're scared of being fake then... just be genuine, okay? We'll have to know stuff about each other anyways if this is gonna be believable. So just ask questions like its a real date." He explained with a quiet voice, his heart pounding. He looked down, blinking a few times at their closeness before making eye contact again. "It'll be okay, alright? We'll be okay."

Josh's eyes flooded with relief, somehow reassured. Tyler was just as worried about this going wrong as he was. If anything happened, he would be right there with him.

Josh nodded, and Tyler gave him a small smile. The brunet looked down and let his hands move from Josh's face to the tie that was draped around his neck, beginning to tie it easily.

Josh chuckled as he watched Tyler's slender fingers loop the fabric around.  "The last time I had to wear a tie was my graduation so I'm not very good at this." He smiled nervously.

"You look good in it." Tyler said impulsively. He tightened the knot, adjusting the tie a bit more as he felt his face heat up at his comment. When he finally had the ability to look back up, the curly haired man was staring right back at him. Tyler's expression faltered as his heart beat suddenly became too loud in his ears and he backed away, knowing his face was turning pink. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, trying to smile the situation away again.

"I'll meet you downstairs, yeah?" Tyler tried, hating how the reasons for his childish blush would be mistaken for something else, only hoping Josh would be kind enough not to bring it up. Josh only smiled and nodded.

Tyler turned around and opened the door, but only to look back at the man again and remind him, "Just breathe, okay?"

Josh closed his eyes with a smile as he nodded. Tyler shut the door quietly, leaning his body against the wood. He closed his eyes taking a deep breath as his last words echoed in his mind.

• • •

Josh was walking down the stairs when he heard Tyler and Jenna's raised voices.

"Come on! You guys need practice before I just  _send you out_  into the world!" She exclaimed.

His eyes widened as he thought about slowly making his way back up into Tyler room, but it was too late. He had been seen. Jenna's eyes grew with excitement as she beckoned him over.

"Josh!" She exclaimed with a big smile as he took his time wandering over to her, an uneasy smile on his face as he went to stand next to Tyler.

She crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes but forcing a tight lipped grin on her face. "Josh, in your professional opinion, do you think that you and Tyler should rehearse a bit before you guys go out tonight?" She smiled, her eyes urging Josh to agree with her. "I mean, you would never show up on set without knowing your lines right?" She added.

Josh looked between her and Tyler, beginning to nod quickly with the most feigned sense of confidence. "Y-Yeah of course. Especially with," His eyes widened as he floundered about for an explanation. "-with a  _live_  performance. You need to make sure you're prepared."

The blonde smiled at him, satisfied. " _See_?" She grinned to Tyler. "We can start off slow. Just the little things you guys need to make sure to hit the mark on."

Tyler remained aloof, even though his hands were beginning to clam up. He wasn't sure what Jenna was thinking and to what extent she wanted this to go and he didn't like that at all. Tyler liked to be in control of his environment, and this entire situation was keeping him on edge.

"PDA and your online presence will probably be the most important parts of this, but we'll get to that later. Things like holding hands, cheek kisses, big smiles of adoration- _that's_ what you need to focus on tonight." The blonde clasped her hands together in front of her. "So show me how you guys would hold hands."

Josh glanced over as the brunet beside him to see how he would react. To his surprise, Tyler huffed loudly and without bothering to look at him, reached his arm out and grabbed Josh's hand, twining their fingers loosely. Josh tried to contain his smile at the other man's annoyance, like his mom was forcing him to take far too many prom pictures before leaving with his date.

"There. What next?" Tyler spoke with anger on the tip of his tongue, brooding silently.

"Smile at each other. Don't be awkward." Jenna continued.

Tyler furrowed his brows. "I know how to smile, why do we have to practice doing that? Can't we just smile like we normally do?"

Jenna sighed, almost rolling her eyes. "Of course not. You two are supposed to be  _in love._  If you look at each other like strangers who just met each other two hours ago, people are gonna tell." She shrugged. "Besides, your guys' whole story is that you've been dating secretly for a year and you're finally ready to be out together in public. It's supposed to be a nerve wracking but also really joyful night."

Josh's hand tightened around Tyler's on accident at the new information. He quickly loosened his grip when Tyler flicked his eyes down for the smallest second.

"Wait, since when has that been  _our story?"_ Tyler asked as the blonde girl huffed, beginning to gently nudge them in the direction of the front door.

"Since now." She opened it, pushing them outside with their hands still attached and bewilderment slapped across their faces. "One last thing." She sighed, her arms outstretched across the length of the doorframe.

"You guys  _have_  to kiss tonight. On the lips, out and proud. There will probably be cameras around once the paparazzi get wind of you being out in public for the first time since the scandal broke out. You have to make an impression."

Josh noticed how Tyler's jaw clenched at her mention of the tabloids. The brunet easily relaxed rolling his eyes and turning his back, beginning to walk away and pulling Josh with him. Confidence filtered into Tyler's words again. "Yeah sure, Jenna.  _Okay_." He chuckled.

Tyler pulled out his car keys from his pressed dress pants as Jenna called out from the threshold, "Make sure to kiss!" before closing the door.

Josh watched with a nervous heartbeat as Tyler shook his head and laughed softly. The businessman finally let go of Josh's hand when he unlocked his car, walking over to the driver's side and opening his door. The curly haired man however, was stopped in awe at Tyler's spotless black  _Porsche_.

"This is your car?" Josh spoke softly with wide eyes, but immediately regretted the stupid question.

Tyler chuckled. "One of them." He slipped inside the vehicle easily, grinning to himself when Josh still hadn't moved from his spot. "Come on, you coming?" He smiled.

Josh's movements stuttered before he walked to the opposite side of the sports car and got inside. He tried his best not to touch anything besides the seatbelt as he sat with his hands in his lap. The car ride was silent for a long while as Tyler made his way out of the gated hills of his neighborhood. He was keeping his eyes on the road as he drove, with not so much as a glance to Josh.

Now, Josh wasn't saying that he felt it was rude, he knew that it would probably be awkward as hell for both of them, but he was more confused than anything.  _Tyler_  was confusing him. He had no idea how he was supposed to act around him. He didn't know what to expect.

When he first met Tyler, the man was nervous, eyes wide with panic. The next moment cold and professional, then understanding and comforting, and now he seemed to be indifferent again. Josh simply didn't know what side of Tyler he was gonna get if he dared to open his mouth more than necessary tonight. And the worst part of it was how he actually  _wanted_  Tyler to like him. He had an ever changing exterior, and Josh really wanted to break it down. But he had no idea how that was supposed to happen if he threw up in the man's fancy car from nerves.

"One thing, okay?" Tyler suddenly broke the silence around them. Josh blinked quickly before sitting up.

"Y-Yeah?"

Tyler kept his head directed to the road. "We're not kissing, alright?" The man shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Okay." Josh agreed, without even thinking. His mind immediately went back to Jenna's reminder of  _make an impression_. No matter how scared he might've been for tonight, he was probably more scared of Jenna. How were they supposed to make an impression without getting a little bit physical?

Tyler shrugged his shoulders, almost chuckling. "Who kisses on the first date anyways, right?" He kept his eyes down and pulled the keys out of the ignition, sitting back in his seat.

They were parked outside a softly lit building. There were doors of glass but not much else could be seen from where they were. Josh heard Tyler sigh beside him. The man lifted his gentle gaze up to him, a dark emotion stirring in his eyes. He suddenly straightened up, as if remembering something, before his posture deflated again and he took another deep breath with closed eyes.

Josh almost smiled at Tyler's anxious actions. He seemed like a real person instead of the robotic businessman he had previously been trying to be. His front he put up was beginning to waver.

"Nervous?" He asked.

Tyler finally looked at him, before nodding.

The curly haired brunet grinned softly at him, almost forgetting about his own jitters, only remembering to ease the man next to him. He was supposed to be the professional, might as well take the lead.

"Just hold my hand when we walk in, okay?" Josh paused for a moment. "Like you said, right? Just pretend it's like a real date."

He let Tyler's calming words recycle out of his mouth, visibly seeing how they soothed some of the shakiness in Tyler's breath. He nodded. "Okay."

The two men exited the sleek car. The curly haired man extended his arm, watching Tyler's reaction carefully.

Tyler stared at his outstretched hand, Josh practically watching the debate going on inside the man's head. Finally, Tyler grabbed at his fingers, interlocking them together tightly and beginning to walk. Josh smiled.

As soon as they entered, Josh's eyes were wandering the dimly lit space. Almost every source of light was the candle on each white clothed table and every person seated at them seemed to be far more sophisticated and rich than Josh could ever dream to be.

"Joseph, Tyler." The man beside him spoke smoothly. Tyler tugged at Josh's hand with a nervous grin, redirecting his attention and pulling him in the direction the waitress was leading them to.

Their table was pressed up against the window near the entrance of the restaurant, for the greatest amount of people to see. A small dark red rose centerpiece rested on it, most likely Jenna's romantic doing as no other table had one. They slipped in their seats across from each other, leather bound menus being placed in front of them. Josh wiped his sweaty palms on his dress pants before looking up at Tyler.

Yellow candlelight flickered across the man's features, casting almost angelic shadows across his face. The dark silhouette of Tyler's sloped nose and thin lashes cascading down the rest of his face was soft and beautiful. Josh couldn't stop staring. It'd make a great photo. The atmosphere was intimate while the man in front of him looked seemingly innocent. The lack of any suggestive glint in his eyes and the candid position of him just worked.

"What are you looking at?" Tyler asked cautiously, his eyes suddenly peering out from over his menu. Josh blinked quickly, his fingers fumbling around the edges of the leather book in front of him.

"N-Nothing." He looked down. "Just you." He said, for lack of a better answer. He looked up at Tyler to see his smirk.

"It'd make a good picture." He justified.

Tyler smiled widely at Josh's own awkwardness, soft dips in cheeks appearing.  _"I_ would make a good picture?" He asked, cocky.

Josh looked down, his lips curling upwards. "Yeah."

They were both quiet, the faint chatter around them making them both uneasy for a moment. Josh quickly sat up, clearing his throat and opening his menu, quickly prompting Tyler to look back down at his own. Josh's thick eyebrows screwed up as his eyes glazed over the words on the page. His brown eyes began to widen as they scattered across the page in a panic. He looked up to the man across from him.

"Uh, Mr. Joseph?" He said softly.

The businessman's dark coffee ones met his, putting his menu down. _"Josh._ You don't have to call me that. We're dating. My name's Tyler."

Josh nodded, his eyes fluttering as he looked down at his menu again."Yeah, yeah.  _Tyler..."_ He tried again almost starting to smile just from his own embarrassment.

"This is all in French. So I have no idea what any of it says." He chuckled nervously.

The brunet man glanced down at his menu, feeling his chest flutter as a grin spread across his face. "So you're telling me that you don't know what  _duck confit cassoulet_ is? Or  _coq au vin?"_ Tyler said in an exaggerated accent.

Josh started to giggle, shaking his head back and forth with a wide smile. "No, sorry. Should I?" He laughed.

Tyler looked down, hating that he couldn't help his grin. This man was just so goddamn sweet about  _everything_. "Don't worry about it. I'll order for you."

After Tyler let silky French words slip out of his mouth to the waiter and the wine was poured, they were left alone in the golden candlelight again, silence once again filling their corner of the restaurant. Josh reminded himself that he was supposed to be the experienced one between the two of them, and he needed to get over himself and start playing the part.

"What would you usually ask someone during a date?" He asked.

Tyler looked up from the tablecloth, his eyes guarded. "I don't really know. I haven't dated in a long time."

"How long?"

"Maybe a few years."

Josh's eyes widened. Tyler scoffed. "I don't really have time for romance. Owning a company is... stressful."

"Must be tough." Josh said.

Tyler couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not, but he continued. "Yeah. Jenna's kinda the most normal relationship I have. And even then, she still works for me."

Josh took a sip from his wine glass. "Well you've certainly accomplished a lot more than I have when I was your age."

Tyler frowned in confusion. "When you were  _my_  age? I'm only 23."

Josh nodded. "I'm 24."

Tyler's brows screwed up even further. "And you're still in school?"

The man across from him took in a sudden breath at the question, his lips pursing before his face relaxed again. "Yeah. Well, I'm just now enrolling. I think of my life after high school up until now as an overextended gap year."

Tyler nodded, choosing to ignore the sudden rigidity of Josh's body. Any previous things the businessman had wanted to say blanked out of his mind, the dreadful silence that kept leaking back into their conversation becoming overbearing. He shouldn't even be this nervous over a date that wasn't real.

They needed to look  _comfortable_ and  _in love_ and it certainly was not feeling or looking like either. Josh kept glancing out the window. It was either the window or his hands and Tyler hated the ridiculous amount of awkwardness that seemed to have taken hold of their table.

Tyler sat up straight, taking a deep breath. "Just keep asking me questions." He urged, taking a much needed drink of his wine.

The curly haired man nodded and thought for a moment, before beaming up at him hopefully. "Do you like music?"

Tyler smiled behind the crystal in his hand, nodding almost bashfully as if it was a secret.

Josh smiled "What're you into?"

Tyler shrugged, setting his glass down. "I dunno, it's kinda all over the place. I like slower stuff usually. Stuff that sounds a little weird." The brunet noticed how his sophisticated vocabulary significantly diminished around Josh. Not everything felt like business and he was beginning to relax around him and he thanked god that the tense fog of conversation was beginning to lift. "What do you like?"

Josh's answer was instantaneous. "80's or 90's. All that cheesy pop or new wave stuff. I love it."

Tyler couldn't help his response. He rolled his eyes to the back of his head, releasing a huge sigh.  _"God_ , are you one of those  _'born in the wrong generation_ ' people?" He asked disdainfully.

Josh scoffed with narrowed eyes. "Are you seriously making fun of my music? Don't be jealous just cause I have exquisite taste."

Tyler laughed. "Trust me, I am in no way envious of what you force yourself to listen to."

Josh's eyes widened. " _Force myself?"_  He sat back in his chair, pulling the cloth napkin out of his lap and throwing it on the table.  _"Nope_ , no this isn't going to work. I can't pretend to date someone who has zero appreciation for good music."

The brunet couldn't contain his laughter. "Good music? This is coming from someone who probably thinks  _Come on Eileen_  is a classic." He scoffed.

Josh sat up, leaning across the table. "You know what, buddy?" He smiled, pointing a finger at him.

Tyler leaned forward to meet him, a grin on his lips.

"You just argued yourself into a mixtape." The curly haired man smirked.

Tyler furrowed his eyebrows. "What?"

Josh sat back in his seat, gloating. Some sense of flirtiness glinted in Josh's dark brown eyes as he looked across the table. "We need to get to know each other anyways,  _so_ I'll make it my duty to make you a CD with all the best songs there ever were on it." He smirked. "Introduce you to _real_ music."

Tyler rolled his eyes. "Yeah, we'll see." Neither one of them could help the laughter bumping in their chests or the shine in their eyes. A playfulness flickered between them, creating an ease that made both of them smile at everything the other said.

Conversation soon became easier, going back and forth throughout the night, until the two began to notice that Jenna was right. Word  _did_  get around that  _Tyler Joseph_  was gonna be out tonight.

People with cameras loitered around the outskirts of the parking lot outside the restaurant, just far enough away to be inconspicuous, yet close enough to get a good shot of anyone in the vicinity.

They was getting ready to leave, Josh going to put on his black coat when his eyes looked up to the brunet across the table. "You alright?" He asked.

Tyler's head nodded toward their window, watching Josh's recognition of the situation register. The curly haired man smiled. "You ready to put on a show?" He asked.

Tyler could feel his throat dry but he nodded. They stood and Josh grabbed his hand, sending another reassuring smile his way as they walked toward the entrance. "So how do you want to play this?" Josh asked quietly, realizing that they hadn't actually discussed the real mechanics of how tonight was supposed to go.

Tyler sighed. He had no clue how to go about this and he could already feel his chest begin to clog with fear. The only thing that kept poking his brain were Jenna's words of  _kiss kiss kiss_.

"You wanna just..." Tyler started, more unsure of his words than he'd been all day.

"Walk back to the car? Don't make eye contact with cameras, just be normal." He decided. "I'm sure they've already gotten pictures of us having dinner together." He added.

Josh was unsure for a moment, not wanting to get backlash from Jenna about not providing  _physical_  evidence, but also not wanting to push Tyler. He took a breath and nodded, pulling the man behind him by his hand. "Stay close to me." Josh muttered gruffly, before opening the glass doors and stepping outside.

Tyler's palms were sweaty in Josh's hands, his gaze set on the ground. A degree of anxiety thumped along with the quickening pace of his heartbeat the longer they were out in the open.

It seemed like they were building up to something, like in a horror movie. They were in a part where the music is slow and tense and the audience is just waiting for a horrifying image to burst upon the screen so their hearts could settle and they breathe again. Tyler could hear sets of footsteps get closer and murmurs of voices getting louder, and all he wanted was to have that feeling of being able to breathe again.

The first flash is what got him. As soon as that first, bright light from a camera sparked against Josh and his' body, he knew he had to do something. He couldn't give his anxiety another moment to build inside of his chest.

Tyler kept his gaze on the ground. "Josh?" He whispered.

He felt the man's eyes on him.

"Mr. Joseph!" Several voices called out.

Tyler shut his eyes tightly before taking a breath and turning to Joshua. He could barely understand why, but all he knew was that he had to do it.

It happened quickly. Tyler could barely see the confusion flash in Josh's face before he had pushed their lips together. Tyler wrapped his arms tightly around the curly haired man's neck, exhaling against him.

It was such an uncoordinated action. Their lips stuck together, and he felt Josh stumble backwards at the way Tyler had thrown himself at him. His arms hovered over his hips before wrapping them around Tyler's waist.

Their rough cheeks rubbed together and Tyler was sure his hands were sticking out and pointed in odd directions. But the brunet lost perception of everything else around him. His senses faded out, and he could only feel the throbbing bites of anxiety in his lungs calm, almost evaporate.

Tyler really had no idea how long they'd been pressed up against each other, but when they parted, a disorienting disaster of sounds flooded his ears. Shouts and yells of urgent questions Tyler could barely distinguish surrounded him, bright white flashes accompanying every lack of reply.

He couldn't believe it, but Tyler actually started to  _smile_  as he felt Josh intertwine their fingers again, pulling them toward his car. The brunet's mind still whirred from the sensory shock as they ran and climbed into their respective sides.

The shouts were muffled as their doors closed but flashes of light still flooded the inside of the car. Tyler turned the engine over and pulled out of the lot, certainly driving over the speed limit once he got on the main road.

Tyler couldn't keep the amazed look off his face and his hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly, they couldn't be peeled off the leather even if he tried. Josh's eyes were cautiously watching the other man. "Tyler? Are you alright?" His words were soft.

Tyler assumed he was probably just hysterical as he laughed inside the car. His hands rubbed his face and heavy breaths expanded his chest. He slapped his hands onto the wheel again as he slowly released some of the pressure he'd put on the gas pedal. He laughed loudly again. "Yeah, oh my god. We did it!"

"Yeah," Josh started to smile, chuckling alongside him. "What exactly happened back there?"

Tyler tensed. Was it too much? Not enough? He didn't really have an answer. He just  _felt_  like he needed to do it. He shrugged. "Well, Jenna  _did_  say we had to kiss. I guess by the end of the night I kinda agreed with her."

Josh's gaze was stuck on the brunet, in awe. "What happened to no kissing on the first date?"

Tyler smirked. "Technically this isn't our first date. We're supposed to have been dating for a year, remember?"

Josh let out an airy laugh, shaking his head back and forth.

"If you say so."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> everyone has been ridiculously nice to me about this story and i appreciate it so so much ive put a lot of work into this story its my favorite thing but i gotta stop combining all my pre-written chapters or else ill have to start posting once every few months YIKES


	5. Sleepless

Josh knocked twice on the hard wood door, cringing at how it echoed throughout the whole marble hallway. It was almost two in the morning and he couldn't sleep.

Foul thoughts of how him and Tyler would be in the tabloids tomorrow, glossy faced with huge yellow headlines written above them, continuously pervaded his mind. He had been pushing away his thoughts in attempts to keep Tyler above water during their  _date,_  and now that it was over, his anxiety was beginning to float back up to the surface. Too many things could go wrong tomorrow and it was driving him mad.

Josh had been given his own room, next door to Tyler's. It was just as nice and almost as big, but the unfamiliarity of it and the isolation it created wasn't helping with the murky thoughts his brain was swimming in. As much as Josh disliked the idea of talking to Tyler when he didn't need to, he felt desperate. Any form of solace seemed worth it, even if it was a (barely) acquaintance next door.

The tall man stood at the door for a full minute with no response, his heartbeat in his ears. Josh suddenly felt silly. What was he gonna do if Tyler opened the door?  _Ask to lay in bed with him and sort through his feelings? Yeah, sure._

But before he could turn around and go back to his bedroom, heavy footsteps were heard from inside and the door was swung open. A disheveled Tyler in pajama shorts and a t-shirt stood in front of him. His hair was a mess and his eyes were heavy from a lack of sleep.

"Yeah?" Tyler's voice was gruff and Josh immediately regretted disturbing him in the middle of the night, especially since he was just anxious.

"Hey, uh." Josh ran his hands through his knotted curly hair, eyes glancing back to his room down the hall. He took a breath.

"You know what—" Josh shook his head, starting to back away. "-never mind it's fine. I'm, I'm sorry for waking you-" He rubbed his hands across his face, turning around. He shouldn't have done this, it was more than unprofessional to ask for comfort from your  _boss_.

Tyler stepped out of his room, his chest tugging at Josh's reluctance.  _Damn it, control yourself,_ he thought as he willed himself to stay by the door.

Tyler's rationalizing came out as he watched the man start to pad back to his room. He knew he would need Josh's trust if he didn't want these next few months to be painfully awkward for them, or believable for that matter. Their  _relationship_  wasn't going to work if they couldn't talk to each other.

Tyler swore under his breath as he reasoned. "Hey, w-wait it's fine. I couldn't sleep, you..." Tyler croaked out.

Josh stopped, turning around with furrowed brows. Tyler sighed, closing his eyes in defeat. "You didn't wake me."

He kept his voice soft, beckoning Josh to come closer. "What did you need?" He asked quietly.

The curly haired man walked back to the door. He shrugged. "I don't know to be honest. Kinda just..." He ran his hands through his hair again, keeping his eyes on the ground. "...wanted to talk to someone I guess."

Tyler's hardened features almost melted at the passiveness of his words. Why did that man seem to act like a puppy _all_ the time? Always gentle, _nervous_.

"Do you wanna come in?" Tyler asked, already surprised at his own suggestion. _What did he think he was doing?_

Josh nodded slowly, following the brunet inside. His face pulsed hotly as he looked around the bedroom, nervous to walk further than a few steps past the threshold. So far, it was the only room Josh had seen of this house that looked remotely lived in.

Creamy sheer curtains were slid open in haste, moonlight and city lights bathing the bedroom in a soft golden shadow. The white bedding of Tyler's bed was wrinkled and pushed to the side. The nightstand held a yellow lamp that was clicked on, an empty water bottle and a few other necessities (including a crumpled receipt from the restaurant their date was at) littered the area around it. Tyler was sat on the edge of his bed, leaving the curly haired man standing in the center of the dark room.

Josh felt out of place. He didn't belong in a place as nice as this, or in an area so intimate with this man. Regardless of whether or not it was professional, being with an attractive man in his bedroom in the middle of the night often lead to questionable decisions in Josh's experience.

They both seemed a little uncomfortable with the situation. A tenseness hung in the air, both of them unsure of which way to go; whether to let the heavy air suffocate them into silence or to just _get over it_  and talk like normal people.

Tyler kept his eyes towards the ground. He shrugged, but quickly wished he hadn't. It made it look like he was trying too hard, like he was emphasizing his indifference.

However, it was also possible that he was just trying to distract himself from how fast his heart was beating. They'd never really been alone together before. It was always Jenna, or Brendon, strangers, paparazzi. Never just  _them_.

The car ride didn't count either. They had had expectations then, a mission. Now, there was no excuse for any behavior. Any way they acted right now would be because of who they were, not because of the job. The mere idea of that kind of vulnerability exposing them was straining the air they breathed.

"You can sit if you want." Tyler muttered, but loud enough for Josh to notice the scratchy lilt in his voice.

Josh wandered over, the bed dipping awkwardly as he sat next to him. They were quiet for a while, Josh keeping his gaze towards his hands in his lap while Tyler stared at the wall ahead of him.

"What'd you wanna talk about?" Tyler finally broke the silence. 

Josh sat up, actually surprised that he spoke. He shrugged his shoulders, keeping his gaze downward. He was starting to think that this  _definitely_  was not a good idea, his anxiousness biting at the edges of his brain with even sharper teeth than before.

"I dunno," He began, shrugging his shoulders again. "I just couldn't really stop thinking. I just wanted to take my mind off of it."

Josh's eyes flicked over to Tyler's face for a moment before bringing his gaze back down. "Being with other people usually helps. I don't like to be alone."

Tyler didn't look at him.

"Me neither." The brunet said, almost in a whisper.

Something was off with him. Josh could tell. Sure, Tyler was nervous about tonight, but he was eventually talkative, smiling, laughing even. Now, his mind was somewhere else, eyebrows furrowed and a hard stare at anything but him.

Maybe he was overthinking it, but Josh's eyes kept wandering back to the man, concern flooding his chest. "Is something wrong, Tyler?"

Tyler kept his eyes on the wall.

His voice was quiet. "I don't like being alone at night. I think too much."

_"Well, I'm here now."_

The words came out of Josh's mouth before he could stop them. Tyler finally looked at him, dark eyes full of moonlight. Josh pulled his legs up onto the bed, holding his ankles with his hands. 

"What's your favorite movie?" He asked, trying to hide his small smile and failing.

"What?" Tyler said almost chuckling.

"What's your favorite movie?" He repeated.

Tyler rolled his eyes. "We're not on a date anymore, you don't have to keep asking me questions."

"Just answer me!" Josh laughed.

Tyler let the smallest hint of a smile lift his lips as he brought his legs up onto the mattress like Josh had. "I dunno. Probably something like  _Moonrise Kingdom."_

Josh scrunched his nose up at Tyler's answer. "That movie's so  _boring_. Why do you like it?"

The brunet shrugged, grinning the smallest bit at Josh's reaction. "It's beautiful. You're not really supposed to pay too much attention to the plot, I think. Maybe more on the story provided by the cinematography." 

He turned to look at Josh, who seemed unmoved by his explanation. Tyler sighed with a smile. "I thought a photography minor would understand the importance of that but," The brunet shrugged, glancing to the side. "I guess not."

Josh nudged his shoulder against Tyler's playfully, shifting him off balance and making the man smile. Josh was more than glad to see it appear on his face.

"If a movie's bad, its bad. I really don't think cinematography can save it." Josh made a smile that matched Tyler's and he couldn't help but bring his gaze down as he felt warmth flood his face.

Tyler scoffed, turning his body toward the man. "I'm assuming your favorite movie is better then?" His voice bordered on teasing, and Tyler let it happen. He felt more at ease with Josh around him.

Josh smiled, screwing his face up adorably.  _"Yes."_

Tyler crossed his arms and smirked, leaning back. "Enlighten me."

The curly haired man smiled.  _"The Breakfast Club."_

Tyler almost gagged, immediately doubling over and groaning.  _"God_ , thats so  _cliche_ , Josh." Tyler hated to admit that when he brought his head up to look at Josh again, he had an undeniable, stupid grin on his face. 

Josh was appalled.  _"Excuse me?_  Do you not absolutely adore the seminal 80's classic,  _The Breakfast club?"_

"Nope. Never even seen it." Tyler chuckled. "Literally every single person who ever thought they were  _quirky_  says that their favorite movie is  _The Breakfast Club."_ He giggled softly. "I don't really wanna be apart of that."

Josh shook his head. "Wow. First, you insult my music and now my movies? Unbelievable." Josh scoffed.

Soon, the quiet air was filled with vows to make Tyler watch the film and an absurd amount of conversation about how uncultured Tyler was in his taste of all things regarding 80's pop culture. Hours passed easily, both men now laying on their backs on the bed, side by side. The room had quieted, laughs and arguments dying down as drowsiness slowly started to drift its way through the room.

Josh's eyes were beginning to droop, his eyelids almost slipping shut.

"Are you scared?" Tyler suddenly whispered, breaking the silence.

Josh turned his head to look at the man, finding the brunet's gaze stuck on the ceiling. He didn't know what type of fear Tyler was talking about. Whether it be about tomorrow, what had happened tonight, or something else.

Josh turned to look at the ceiling too. "Yeah."

"Me too."

Then Tyler did something that made Josh question why he was even here tonight.

Tyler reached over slowly with nervous hands, fumbling around with their fingers first, before intertwining their hands together tightly.

Josh's breath hitched at the contact. He closed his eyes, squeezing the other man's hand. He felt... comfortable. 

In a stupid, naive sense he realized something: they only had each other. No one else could know about what was really going on. No one would really know what was happening behind the scenes besides them. Jenna was more of their manager than anything, she wouldn't always be there for these next three months of trial and error.

Josh sighed, also feeling himself realize what the  _hell_ he just got himself into.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for your guys' support and feedback. its really helpful and means a lot. keeps me writin. im seeing the boys in 6 days in my hometown. im really excited and happy. i miss them. i miss home. much love ya'll, keep breathing.


	6. Improvements

Tyler's entire body was stiff. His gaze was still stuck on the same spot on the ceiling, one of those carved out dips that was meant to hold lightbulbs but at night, just looked like a dark orb where anything from a spider to a demon could crawl out of. Once Josh had dozed off, his hand slipping from Tyler's grip and body rolled off to the side, the businessman had forced himself over to the opposite part of the bed.

All night he had kept to his end of the mattress, his body almost falling off the edge several times from the amount of distance he tried to keep between the two of them. His constant need to be on high-alert was exhausting, but he was determined.

Determined not to acknowledge the fact there was another person in his bed. A stranger. _A man_. A man he had stupidly decided to lock hands with just because he  _felt like it_. Just because he  _wanted to,_ and that unshakeable fact had trained Tyler's eyes to the ceiling and kept his throat tight throughout the night.

Sometimes, his eyelids would begin to fall shut, and his line of sight would begin to wander down, down, down until they fell onto the man. Onto  _stupid_ Josh. His relaxed body, the smooth curve of the shoulder blades Tyler could see through his thin grey shirt, or the way the comforter fell just below his waist. Then suddenly, Tyler would be wide awake again and staring at that spot on the ceiling.

He didn't understand what was happening, why he was acting like this. He had no reason to be. Sure, he could chalk it up to the idiotic world of celebrities and how it can make anyone fall off the deep end, but Tyler knew he would be lying to himself. This didn't feel anything like that, and let's be honest, Tyler would be a C-List celebrity if he was ever really considered one in the first place.

He just felt at ease. He was comfortable around someone and it was scaring that absolute hell out of him. That didn't happen easily for Tyler, and so quickly too. He barely knew the man, but he was already making things seem  _easier._ Things felt like they would be okay when Josh was around.

Tyler's mind raced. He hated what he was feeling. That certainty, knowing that it was true. _He already trusted Josh._

In those startled fingers he had held and the reassurance of his nods. No matter what it meant, Tyler knew he trusted Josh and he _hated_ knowing that that was the only problem he had with the man.

How did Josh manage to do that in mere hours? To warm up an opening in Tyler's chest and let himself in there, as if he had any right to?

As the night went on, Tyler eventually made peace with his irrational fear of looking at Josh. He slept, but hardly more than a few hours.

Sunlight was now pouring in from his large window. He had forgotten to draw the curtains after talking with Josh last night and now he was regretting becoming so careless in his presence last night. That damn  _ease_.

He scrunched up his face at the sun, letting his tired eyes wander to his left. Josh seemed to have migrated since he last let himself catch a glimpse of the man. He was still on the far side of his part of the bed, all wrapped up in white sheets and comforter, but now he was facing Tyler.

Tyler was cautious, his mind sparking off inside his skull as he stared. Even in his sleep, Tyler could feel the authority that Josh had.

In a sense, because of his experience, Josh would be _'the one in charge'_ for the next few months. He was the one who should know what to do to get people to believe in their relationship. He was the one who was supposed to hold all the answers and be the solution to their problem. Tyler shut his eyes as he thought about that  _trust_ again.

Josh groaned softly beside him and the businessman instantly became rigid. His eyes immediately flicked to the man just in time to watch him roll over and throw an arm over Tyler's chest. It was heavy, and left his large hand dangling over the edge of Tyler's ribs. The brunet's eyes went wide at the sudden closeness.

He barely allowed air to pass through his lungs as he tried to keep as quiet and still as possible. Josh's face was level with Tyler's cheek, almost coming onto the same pillow as him.

Tyler gulped as he kept his eyes on the man. "Uh, J-Josh?" He croaked out, just loud enough to make the man stir.

_"Mmm..."_ Was sighed softly into the white bedding and Tyler suddenly wasn't able to breathe.

Josh shifted closer, his breath suddenly warm and brushing Tyler's cheek. The brunet was absolutely  _flushed_  pink as the man beside him made soft noises and rested his arm snugly around Tyler's hip.

Now, maybe he could've dealt with that. Maybe Tyler could've handled their close proximity and the warmth of the body beside him or the gentle, easy breathing in his ear. But when Josh began to nudge his nose at Tyler's rosy cheek, Tyler knew he certainly  _could not_  handle that.

His eyes became even wider than before as he made his voice louder. "J-Josh, Josh?!" His voice was a high pitched squeak. The hot shivers rippling all over his body from the sudden contact were overwhelming, and it made his voice scared and urgent. The man's lax body, his breathing, _scent;_  it was all too much, especially in combination with the jagged thoughts that had plagued Tyler's mind all night.

"Mmph, yeah?" Was mumbled into his ear.

_Oh god._

Josh's voice was thick with sleep and rough from the lack of use. Tyler heard himself actually gasp at the sound, not only that but from  _feeling_  it. The rumble in the man's chest as he groaned the acknowledgement vibrated against Tyler and it made him feel like his own chest was caving in on itself.

Josh finally fluttered his eyelids open. The sunlight in the room caught the caramel in Josh's eyes and Tyler really could not remember if he had breathed at all this morning. He looked up at Tyler with a drowsy look of concern and mussed up chocolate curls and Tyler couldn't help his stare. Until Josh suddenly realized he had managed to completely engulf the smaller man with his body.

"Oh-Oh," Josh said as he backed away, removing his arm from it's place around Tyler's waist and making sure there was a reasonable wrinkled white expanse of distance between them. "Sorry." He smiled with his embarrassed eyes.

The businessman smiled, beginning to sit up and lean against one forearm. "No, no. It's okay." His grin was sincere and he knew it. Josh smiled back.

A quick knock on the door was barely registered as they kept their gaze, cheeks pink and eyes shy.

"Tyler, Brendon's downstairs are you up yet?" Jenna's heels clicked their way into the room, the sudden disturbance causing both men to scoot even further away from each other.

Her face was buried in a magazine, still unaware of someone besides Tyler being in the room with them. When her eyes peeked over the top of her reading, she immediately brought her head up, eyes widening. She folded the thin magazine and slotted it underneath one of her arms before going to cross them, a smirk growing as she looked at their blushing faces.

"Settling into our roles, are we?" She grinned to them.

Neither one of them were naked or even had their shirts off, but they sure felt exposed with the way Jenna was staring at them like she just  _knew_ what had happened and had caught them in the act. Tyler was sure that whatever she was thinking, was far from the truth.

"What do you want?" He asked curtly.

Jenna's smirk eased off of her face. She slapped the magazine she had been reading on the puffy blankets of Tyler's bed. "Guess who's on the cover of _Star_   _Magazine_ today?"

Both of them furrowed their eyebrows and leaned towards the center to peer at the glossy magazine she had thrown on their legs.

_Secret Joseph Romance_ was pasted in yellow block letters in the middle of the page, in all capital letters. The picture in the background was of their 'dramatic' kiss outside of the restaurant, blown up out of proportion with their connected mouths above the headline that covered their bodies. It looked almost as bad as Tyler had imagined.

He quite obviously looked like he had just thrust his body against Josh, his arms thrown around the man's neck and faces squished together. However, the spontaneity of it actually made the kiss seem more  _passionate_. Which Tyler really shouldn't have been complaining about, he just couldn't look past how awkward their mouths looked. The sheen of the cover seemed to make the spit slicked on their lips more prominent, and he had these weird hallows in his cheeks from quite literally sucking Josh's face.

Despite that, Tyler was in awe. They had still made the cover.

"Holy shit." Josh whispered, picking it up and quickly going to leaf through the magazine. "What's it say?" He asked with excitement.

He stopped when he got to the main article about them. Several pictures of them laughing and smiling during dinner were pasted on the outer corners of each page with uninteresting cheesy comments written underneath them (usually something along the lines of "Joseph and Mystery Man share a laugh and a cheeky smile over a romantic candlelit dinner!")

The majority of the article was mostly filler and speculation about who  _the_   _stranger Mr. Joseph locked lips with_   _last night_ was, only a day after homophobic rumors about him blew up on the internet.

Tyler leaned over, eyes quickly skimming over the page. Josh suddenly lifted the magazine up higher with both of hands and read the last line out loud. "However one thing is certain: Tyler Joseph  _certainly_  isn't straight."

He chuckled, turing to smile at Tyler who had a small grin pulling up his own lips as well.

"It worked." Tyler said with disbelief, eyes wide. His grin sparkled as he looked to Josh. "We did it."

There was a beat of silence as Jenna looked between the two men, all hopeful gazes and big smiles. She rolled her eyes, snatching the magazine out of Tyler's hands, bringing him back down to earth.

"Yeah, yeah you _did it,"_ she said uninterested, putting up air quotes. "You did one out of the hundreds of other things you have to do next."

She folded the magazine again and put it underneath her arm. "Just in case you didn't hear me the first time, Brendon's downstairs. He wants to talk to you and Josh."

She began to make her way out of the room before stopping at the threshold, her hand gripping the frame of the doorway. Jenna glanced back at them. "I'd also check your phones if I were you. Twitter's freaking out."

• • •

One thing that Tyler did not expect after last night, would be the lack of of outrage from his family. In fact, he had gotten no response from his parents at all. No missed calls or texts from anyone. The only notifications he had on his phone were from twitter, all from gossip accounts that had tagged him while advertising their stories on him and his fake love life.

Josh however, received the exact opposite. Calls from his mom and dad as well as texts from his sister and younger brother, all asking about how exactly he had managed to already be dating a millionaire his first month in LA and why he hadn't told any of them about it.

Josh was scratching at the brown curls on the base of his neck with his eyes on his phone as he walked down the stairs with Tyler, not noticing the stare the businessman held on him.

"Mornin!" Came the cheery greeting from a surprisingly sober Brendon Urie as they walked into the kitchen.

It surprised both men out of their respective gazes and redirected them to him and Jenna who were both standing behind the kitchen island, the magazine splayed out on top of it.

"How you guys feeling?" Brendon asked with a smile.

He already looked cocky at 9:30 in the morning and it aggravated Tyler as he mumbled a soft "Fine," and settled into one of the chairs at the granite counter, Josh coming to sit next to him.

Tyler looked to Brendon. "Why're you here?" He asked quickly. He was too exhausted emotionally and physically to deal with with the man this early in the morning.

Brendon straightened up, trying not to roll his eyes at his clipped tone. He sighed. "We need to talk about what to do now that you guys are out. I'm assuming you've already read at least one of the magazines that have written about you?"

Tyler was unaware of there being more than the one that Jenna showed him and Josh but he nodded anyways.

"Well in general its been a pretty positive response. Not only have magazines and news sites been providing the perfect amount of speculation, but your overall online reaction has been great too." Brendon pulled out his phone, tapping on it a few times before showing the screen to Tyler and Josh.

It was twitter once again, a few threads of teenagers going back and forth about the drama that had happened. Tyler was surprised to find how  _supportive_  those strangers seemed to be of his and Josh's relationship. Many were actually proud of Tyler for the gesture of love he had made to come out and were excited to see another LGBT "celebrity."

"Most people actually liked the way you and Josh became public." Brendon said as he locked and pocketed his phone. "Personally, the kiss was a little too Nicholas Sparks for my tastes." 

Tyler was trying his best not to glare at him when Brendon spoke again. "So you guys have been doing alright convincing people, but there are  _definitely_ a few things we could improve on."

Tyler squinted his eyes. "Such as?"

"Well not trying to look like you just stumbled into each others mouths every time you kiss would be a good starting point." Brendon scoffed.

The businessman clenched his fists. He hated how Brendon could so easily get under his skin. He shot his eyes down. "It was a last minute decision." He grumbled.

"Well, Josh actually handled it pretty well." He nodded across the counter to Josh. "He held you close, kissed you back, and took your hand afterwards."

Brendon stood up, beginning to pace the length of the kitchen. "Which got me thinking,"

_"Oh god."_ Josh muttered under his breath, ducking his head down as he kept his eyes on his friend's form, who had crossed his arms and was tapping at his chin with a finger.

"You guys really need to sell this. So maybe, you guys should try method acting."

Josh froze in his seat, eyes wide as his thick fingers gripped the corner of the slippery granite they were resting on. He knew exactly what Brendon was talking about. And he knew that out of all the classes he taught, it was Brendon's favorite to teach.

Tyler looked to him when he drew in a sharp breath at Brendon's words but Josh didn't dare look Tyler in the eye.

"What's that?" Tyler asked slowly, cautious of the answer. He drew his eyebrows together as he chanced another glance at Josh.

"Well," Brendon smiled. "It's basically when actors fully inhabit their role. And I mean, you guys have kind of already done it, with going out on a date together and all."

"I'm not an actor though." Tyler said immediately.

_"Yes_ , but..." He trailed his eyes over to Josh who had his eyes set angrily on the raven haired man.

"You have Josh. Who is an actor who _knows what he's doing_ , _"_ Brendon insisted through a clenched smile and wide eyes. "and will help teach you as your guys' relationship goes on."

"Why can't you do it?" Josh finally spoke, a fierceness glowing in his eyes.

He had a white knuckle grip on the counter, forcing his hands to shake as he tried to contain both his growing hostility towards Brendon and his uncontrollable anxiety over what exactly his friend was trying to pull. Who did Brendon think he was right now? Some host on a shitty matchmaker show? Or maybe he was just being his plain ol' self, trying to "help"Josh out like he did when he got him this idiotic job in the first place.

"Wait, wait what exactly is it? Method acting?" Tyler interrupted, becoming more and more concerned and wary of the idea because of Josh's reluctance.

Brendon huffed as he tore his gaze away from his friend. "It's when you basically  _become_  your character. You identify as your character as soon as you take the role, on and off set. You know everything about them. You fully invest in them emotionally and temporarily are  _them."_

Tyler scrunched his eyebrows together further. "So what's my character?"

Brendon set his palms down on the table. "Going off of the story Jenna told me, you're a successful entrepreneur who has been in the closet for some time now. You met Josh, began dating, fell in love, and realized you couldn't continue hiding who you were anymore. Once those homophobic rumors came out, you figured enough was enough." Brendon said simply. "So basically you're still you, you're just in love with Josh now.

Tyler gulped, feeling a lump in his throat. He nodded slowly, trying to process.  _I'm still me but I'm just in love with Josh now. Sure. That's not a terrifying way to put it at all._

"And Josh?" He asked softly.

Brendon shrugged. "Your boyfriend."

Josh snorted, looking down at his grip on the shiny rock counter. "Thanks."

Brendon ran a hand through his dark, greased hair. "The only hard part would be prepping you guys to work together. You would have to know your 'characters' inside and out to give a sincere performance."

Brendon paused, before revealing his bright white teeth in wide grin, a grin wider than the Devil. He looked to Josh and Josh's stomach tightened into a knot. Whenever Brendon smiled like that, Josh  _knew_  whatever plan he had would end up screwing him over.

Brendon glanced between the two men. "And since your characters are basically just yourselves, except in a relationship together, that means that you and Josh would need to know everything about each other, and you'd live your life as if you were really in a relationship."

Brendon raised his eyebrows "Even when you're not in public." He finished.

There was silence, everyone in the room looking at the dark haired man. Josh was  _fuming._ His nostrils flared as he glared darkly at Brendon. This was stupid. This was stupid and so incredibly ridiculous. They didn't need to do this. They shouldn't have to just because Brendon said so, he was only Josh's friend after all. They didn't hire him. Who the hell even invited him over today?

"I think that's a good idea." Jenna nodded. She had moved over to lean against the cabinets at some point, now just observing them from afar.

"Really," Josh started. "I-I really don't want to make Tyler do anything he doesn't want to do." He said sheepishly, hoping for Brendon's suggestion to just be scrapped.

"I'm okay with it." Tyler interrupted.

Josh looked to him curiously, confused at the man's sudden willingness. "Are you sure?" He said softly. "This kinda thing takes a lot of preparation. We'll have to work together closely and it can be... a lot emotionally sometimes."

Josh had seen it himself. He had seen Brendon teach his classes and saw how this technique affected some of his students. Some characters had a deep traumatic or devastating backstory that, because of method acting, required the actor to wholeheartedly throw themselves into it and live it out each day. Josh had heard how many of Brendon's students couldn't handle it sometimes—all of it suddenly becoming too real at one point.

While their story would be nowhere near as stressful to maintain, it would still be a heavy load. Their characters were in love, and love was complicated and messy even when it's not supposed to be real. Josh didn't want Tyler to have to deal with that if he didn't want to.

Tyler swallowed around the growing lump in his throat and nodded. "We need to be believable. You should know things about me and I should know things about you just like any other couple would. And we shouldn't look caught off guard anytime we have to be in public. I really don't think it would hurt."

"It's settled then." Brendon smiled before Josh could protest again.

"Josh, you're the one who should be helping Tyler with this. You're the one who's supposed to be dating him anyways, not me. It'll help build..." Brendon waved his hand in the air as he pulled a random answer out of his ass.  _"Trust."_

Josh slumped in his seat. He'd just have to deal with it. He'd heard Brendon preach about how acting was supposed to get youout of your comfort zone anyway. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad.

"There's one more thing." Jenna chimed in, leaning her arms on the countertop. "While the younger crowd is practically eating all this gossip up," She squinted her eyes a little, tilting her head side to side. "It's not necessarily the most  _official_  way to come out."

She walked around to Tyler's side, pulling up something on her phone and handing it to him. "To be on the safe side, for the  _Odd._  merger and any future business, I've written up something for you to tweet to confirm your relationship with Josh and officially come out as gay."

The phone felt heavy in Tyler's hands as he looked at what Jenna had written. It was a few nice paragraphs, a short detailing of the struggle of being in the closet and finding happiness with another man, a realization of the stupidity of hiding who he was when he was apparently just worried about image. It was all worded in a way that actually sounded like Tyler had said it, and he commended Jenna for knowing him so well.

"I was thinking maybe you could add in a picture of Josh or something at the end too." The blonde added as she looked over Tyler's shoulder.

"You know, like  _Here's my boyfriend. I like him so please be nice_  or something else stupid you would say."

_"Hey._ I'm hilarious. _"_  Tyler defended.

She only smiled at him, nudging his shoulder. "I just think it'd look cute and it'd be a nice way to establish your guys' online presence."

"That's not a bad idea." Josh nodded. "They should know what my face looks like when it's not pressed up against yours." He smirked.

Tyler immediately felt his face flush as he looked down at the phone again, shaking his head.

Jenna flicked her crystal blue eyes between the two men her smile only growing. "Why don't you guys go out back or something? You can go take that picture now, it's nice outside."

Tyler glanced out the window, seeing the sunlight that glowed over the palms in his yard before looking nervously to Josh, silently asking for permission.

The curly haired man slowly started to rise from his seat. "Yeah, yeah that sounds great." He nodded.

Tyler led the way through the house, and out the back sliding glass door, leaving Brendon and Jenna in the kitchen.

Jenna sighed as she went to go stand next to Brendon who had crossed his tattooed arms, both of them watching the two men take out their phones and begin to smile for each other, laughing every once in a while at something the other said.

"Neither one of them are actually actors." She stated. "And we're having them pretend to date."

"This whole 'faking it' thing really isn't going to end well." Brendon muttered. "They're gonna fall in love with each other before this whole thing is over."

Jenna smirked, holding her fist out for Brendon to bump.

"I couldn't agree more."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its time for it to get gay in here boys!!  
> im sorry for posting this a few weeks later than usual. i do have this whole thing planned out im just hoping you're willing to stick with me on it even though i dont have a fixed schedule. 
> 
> i have a rocky personal life and i write to get away from it. so im always writing but i only post when i can. i hope you can understand and i hope youre doing okay.  
> love yall, keep breathing.


	7. Acting 101

**_@ tylerrjoseph_ **

_I think it's time to make it official. I'm sorry that it has taken everything that has happened for me to do this. But I've been terrified for a long time. I'm tired of it._

_His name is Josh._

_I don't want to hide people that I care about because I'm afraid of something as stupid as sales going down. This man is important to me. He has been for about a while now. He's made me happier than I've ever been in my entire life._

_I shouldn't feel ashamed, and neither should anyone else in my situation. I'm not straight. I really haven't figured out what I am yet. I just know that I care about Josh._

_I hope this doesn't change what you think of me or my brand, but honestly I don't really care._

       

 _(also this is Josh by the way. I really like him so please be nice. -Tyler)_  


Tyler stared back at the phone in his hands, eyes darting back and forth between the blue **'x'** in the left corner and the  **'Tweet'**  button on the right. Jenna's words were personal and heartfelt and Tyler felt queasy at the thought of publishing any of this, and everyone thinking that it was true.

It would publicly solidify a lie he couldn't get out of until all the rumors settled down and the deal with  _Odd._ was back on— and who knew how long that would take. Everyone would think that he was gay and that he was really  _that_  into Josh.

Tyler groaned, remembering what was now to be expected of them. Those dreamy and sincere words would soon have to be reflected in their actions together. He rubbed at his eyes, alone and seated at the kitchen island. He glanced across the hall to the stairwell, hearing the echoes of everyone else who had gone upstairs.

Josh had kept saying something about how natural lighting was better for most people but apparently not for him (something about it washing out his skin) and that they should just go through some pictures that Josh already had of himself.

Once they were inside, they saw that Brendon and Jenna were already halfway up the stairs with the intention of moving Josh's things into Tyler's room before anyone had a chance to argue with them about it. Josh had only rolled his eyes, figuring that if he was going to be invading Tyler's space, he should at least take part in moving "all of his crap."

To be honest, Tyler wouldn't have really protested the idea too much if they had asked him. While it might not have been ideal, he figured that Jenna was right; while it might be uncomfortable at first, the more time him and Josh spent together, the better.

The businessman had been awake for a little over an hour, but he was already feeling a headache coming on over the whole situation. Last night had made it real. From now on, he was lying to the entire world.

He groaned deeply, squeezing his eyes closed. His head pulsed with his heartbeat, and his brain pounded against the cages of his thick skull.  _Screw it_ , Tyler thought as he pinched his temples with one hand and tapped the right corner of the screen with the other, watching the draft become published.

Tyler locked his phone, pushing it into his back pocket before trudging up the stairs, not wanting to think about the public's reactions for the moment and instead, wincing at the loud ruckus that was growing in volume the closer he got to his room.

His door was already wide open when he got to the top of his wooden staircase, hand on the twisting metal rail. Brendon was standing in front of his closet with his hands on his hips while Jenna was in front of a startled Josh, rummaging through the little pile of clothes he had in his hands.

"There's zero room, anywhere. This guy's got more cuff links and ties than anyone I've ever seen." Brendon shook his head disapprovingly before turning to Jenna. "Also, have you asked him why all of his dress shoes look the same? It's depressing, the man needs some variety. At least change up the toe shape or something _._ " He muttered.

Tyler rolled his eyes. "No one looks at your feet, I'm not spending more money on them then I need to." He called out from the banister.

All three of them turned to him at once, an immediate pause in the 'moving in' chaos. Tyler thought he even saw Josh sigh with relief at seeing him.

Tyler walked over, eyes easily slotting between Brendon and Jenna to rest on the man in between them. He leaned against the doorframe of his room. "I went with the picture you said you liked best, Josh. I tweeted it."

Jenna dropped the hoodie that was in her hand, as her eyes widened. "With what I wrote and everything?"

He nodded with a small smile at her excitement.

"Really? That's great!" She squealed. "Awesome, now we can plan what date you guys should go on next. The second time out in public is almost as important as the first, maybe even more." She rambled, crystal eyes darting around the floor. "You guys have established a precedent and now people have sort of an idea of what to expect now."

Tyler scoffed. "What, that we make out every time we're in public?"

Jenna stared at him, annoyed.  _"No_. Affection is what they're expecting. Kissing, touching, even if its just little things like cheek pecks and hand holding. You have to remain consistent."

The blonde's eyes were focused as she paced the length of the room, tugging with long fingers at the collar of her turtleneck. "We should keep you guys out of sight for a few days at least, let things simmer but still, it should be soon." She nodded to herself.

Jenna stopped for a moment. "Tyler, didn't you have something planned this week?"

He shrugged, walking further into the room. "Uh, no. I mean, I had a meeting with some exec's from  _Odd._  but I'm pretty sure that was canceled."

Jenna rolled her eyes, unfolding her arms. "No, like _fun stuff._  You never do anything that's why I remembered when you said you were going somewhere." She said, exasperated.

Tyler flickered his eyes back and forth, scoffing. "I-I do fun stuff." He insisted weakly.

"The baseball game!" She said suddenly, pointing a finger at him. "You have tickets to the Dodgers game on Tuesday! That can be your guys' next date!"

Tyler opened and closed his mouth, trying to flounder around for an excuse while his cheeks burned. He had completely forgotten he had even bought tickets, all the stress and drama surrounding him proving to be a bit more pressing thing to think about.

"It gives us what? Three days? For you guys to practice and get in the swing of things while letting the drama around you two to simmer down a bit." She said with a grin.

Tyler felt his instincts turn to panic. Three days seemed like no time at all, too soon actually to already be out again in the public eye. Tyler felt his fingernails press into his palms, making shallow indents in the skin.

However, neither Tyler nor Josh could form an argument quick enough before Jenna was dragging Brendon out of the room and downstairs by the wrist, insisting on needing help with buying Josh a new outfit for the date. In a whirlwind they were gone, leaving the two flustered men alone.

Josh hadn't said a word since Tyler had arrived, and for some reason, the new date that had just been marked on their calendar left Tyler feeling like Josh shouldn't be so scared to look him in the eye.

Tyler released some pressure from his fingers, feeling the nervous sting his nails had left behind dwindle. He looked at Josh, sat on the edge of the newly made bed, messy bundle of clothes in his hands. The brunet man took a breath before wandering over, sitting down next to him and setting his hands on his knees. He bit at his lip for a moment before gingerly taking a thin shirt off the top of Josh's pile and beginning to straighten it out and fold it on his legs.

"Brendon just doesn't  _think_ I have any room." Tyler said quietly, referring to his closet space. He folded the sleeves over as he spoke.

His head was still ducked down a bit out of shyness when he finally took a glance at Josh. "He doesn't know about the room I have _behind_ the cufflink shelves." He smiled before grabbing another shirt from the mess in the other man's hands.

Josh furrowed his brows. "What?" He said, an unsure smile playing on his face.

Tyler grinned, setting the laundry to the side and standing up before walking over to the dark wooden shelves. He looked to Josh before gripping the top edge of the shelf with one hand and the middle of it with his other. He pushed to the right, the shelves easily sliding and retreating past a piece of rubber that blended into the wall before they completely disappeared.

Tyler reached into the dim room the shelves left in its place and flicked a light switch on. A large walk in closet had Josh pushing his clothes to the side of the bed and walking inside the newly opened up space.

"Did you really think I onlywore suits?" Tyler tried to smile softly at his weak attempt at whatever confident persona he was trying to go for at the moment. His chest thumped a little more quickly when Josh looked back at him with a wide smile.

T-shirts and hoodies hung on the racks, jeans and khakis were folded in the shelves, and vans and tennis shoes were snug in their cubbies.

"Here." Tyler said suddenly, walking over to the right side of his closet and clearing the clothing off of a wide shelf, taking huge heaps of it into his arms instead.

"We can put your stuff on this side." He smiled, gesturing with his head. "Is that okay?"

Josh smiled, going to take some clothes out of Tyler's arms.

"That would be great."

• • •

Originally, when Josh finished moving himself into Tyler's room, he had made a plan to try to keep his distance, at least for the day, and give the man some space. He felt like he had just plunged a bulldozer down the center of Tyler's life, disrupting his home and his personal life simultaneously. The least he could do was leave the man alone until they absolutely had to be together.

But it seemed like Tyler didn't really want that.

When Josh went to leave the room after they finished putting away his clothes, Tyler immediately sat up and asked a soft, "Where are you going?"

Josh turned around slowly, a slight furrowed brow. "I was just gonna go look around the house, see how big it really is. If-If that was okay." He stuttered out, unsure of Tyler's reaction.

"No, that's fine." Tyler said with a smile. "I can, I can show you if you want." He offered hopefully, standing up.

"Oh. Okay." He shrugged.

Even though it was Tyler's mansion, Josh somehow managed to take the lead on the tour of it. Wherever Josh went, Tyler seemed to follow like a shy little shadow, hands stuck in the pockets of his dress pants and taking lazy steps in an attempt to appear nonchalant, asking soft questions about Josh's interests or answering any that Josh had about the house.

Josh would even go as far to say that it felt like Tyler actually wanted to be around him.

It was unusual to say the least, to see the man trying to be so... casual. He was a bit awkward at some points, like when he was wordlessly wandering behind him as Josh walked around the mansion blindly, but more often than not he had a curious question on the edge of his tongue in the hopes of trying to start a conversation.

It was yet another aspect of the businessman that Josh didn't know existed; the polite and softer one.

Josh remembered from the previous night that neither one of them seemed to enjoy being alone with their thoughts, so maybe that's just what Tyler needed right now. So wherever Josh wandered around the house, he let Tyler tag along, let him ask whatever questions he wanted, and tried to not to think about whether or not Tyler was doing this because he actually wanted to get to know him or because it was just his watered down attempt at 'method acting'.

"Josh?" Tyler asked softly as they wandered down a hallway.

"Hm?" He hummed out

"Where're you from?" Tyler asked, as Josh opened the door to yet another bathroom that was the size of his own bedroom.

"Uh, Tahoe." He said distractedly as he glanced around at the sunlight bouncing on the creamy tile walls and golden accents in the room.

Josh cast his gaze down to Tyler, who was now beside him. "Also, this is like the fourth bathroom I've seen on this floor, aren't you the only one who lives here?"

The man shrugged. "I dunno, Jenna helped designed most of it. She overcompensated, I guess."

Josh smirked before closing the door and turning to walk back the same way they came.

"So you mean like Lake Tahoe? Like the ski town?" Tyler returned to the original conversation, a casual questioning tone in his voice. Josh was already picturing the way Tyler was shrugging his arms as he asked the question, always wanting to seem indifferent.

Josh huffed a laugh as they turned a left. "Well not Tahoe _city_. I lived kinda further away from most of the resorts. Well, the big ones at least."

Josh stopped when he saw a long dark hallway. Crimson double doors with large glinting crescent moon handles were at the end of the hall. The style of this part of the house had suddenly changed entirely.

The glass walls and natural lighting most of the mansion had had so far completely ceased to exist in this wing of it, only overhead spotlights in the lowered ceiling every few feet and small lights that bordered the floor. The rich rocks and woods he'd seen this house made of so far had suddenly been replaced with dark red carpeted walls and floors.

Josh turned back slowly to lock eyes with Tyler. "What is...?" He asked slowly.

Tyler looked past him. "Oh! This is the movie theater room."

Josh's eyes suddenly widened. "The, you have a-!" His neck snapped back and forth between Tyler and the doors. He suddenly lunged for Tyler's wrist, pulling the brunet with him as he ran down the hall and flung one of the doors open.

The businessman couldn't help but let out a high pitched laugh at Josh's excitement, all wide smiles and glittering teeth. Josh stopped when he saw the layout of the room.

They stood behind a sleek black bar with tall silver stools before a few rows of large black leather recliners stretched out as the room went on. Black, geometric wall sconces were glowing on the walls, reminding Josh of the classic movie theater lighting before the house lights went down. The movie screen took up most of the back wall and Josh couldn't help but squeeze Tyler's hand out of excitement.

"Oh my god we are going to watch _so many_  80's movies in here." Josh said without removing his eyes from their envious gander of the room.

Tyler looked at him in shock, quickly tugging his hand out of Josh's grasp, fully aware of every finger that brushed against his wrist. " _No_  we are not. I only use this room for  _good_  films, so I am not going to let you disgrace it with some shitty rom-com with that eighty-nine candles girl."

Josh's mouth dropped open. _"Sixteen_  Candles, oh my god, Tyler!" Josh could not believe what he was hearing. Tyler had lost his marbles.

He raked his hands through his curly hair, his eyes wide. "I bet your idea of a good movie is something boring!" Josh whined. "Like some documentary narrated by David Attenborough." He grumbled.

Tyler's eyes moved towards the ground. "He has a soothing voice."

Josh's eyes widened, "Tyler!" He laughed, giggling loudly towards the end of his name in an endearing way that made the man smile much wider than he'd ever admit to.

"C'mon," Josh grinned. "We have to watch a movie in here that I like before I go."

Tyler saw Josh's smile falter as soon as he said it, and the room was suddenly quiet. The dust in the room froze mid-air as the sudden reminder choked their responses out of them. Tyler blinked a few times, the silence loud in his ears.

 _Before I go._  Right. Tyler nodded. It had felt normal, comfortable just walking around and talking to Josh.  _Too comfortable,_  Tyler decided.

"We will, I promise." He said softly, trying to put the smile back on his face.

"Good." Josh grinned, his warm glow coming back to him as they continued on with the tour.

• • •

Brendon was poised proudly in front of the dark brown dining table two days before the baseball game, his hands clasped in front of him and a practiced smile on his face.

"Hello and good morning! Welcome to Acting 101, my name is Mr. U-"

"Don't." Josh interrupted, monotoned from his seated spot beside Tyler, cheek squished into his hand.

Brendon immediately closed his mouth and glared at the curly haired man. "You're really not gonna let me have fun with this?"

"No."

"Fine." Brendon rolled his eyes before sighing. "We've been in a time crunch since day one so me and Jenna agreed that I'll teach  _both_ of you together."

"From now on, when you're  _here_ ," He stuck a finger towards the ground, "you're practicing how to act for when you're out  _there_." He said sternly, pointing his finger out the window.

Tyler nodded obediently, swallowing around his already anxiously taut throat.

"Alright, Josh?" Brendon reiterated to the other man, leaning over the table with his eyes on fire.

Josh sat sullenly, eyes rolled up to the man disinterestedly. While Brendon was Josh's friend, Tyler could tell he didn't seem to like the man too much this morning.

"Alright." He muttered gruffly.

Brendon straightened up his posture, satisfied. "Now," He sighed. "Method acting is all about what goes on behind the scenes, using emotional memory so you can bring those practiced feelings out when you're in the right setting."

Brendon narrowed his eyes. "However, with our limited time you guys will have to go all in and spend as much time as you guys can as your character." Brendon put air quotes around his last two words.

"So, we are going to do an exercise." Brendon said with a smile, going into the sleek white cupboards of the kitchen and pulling out a mug and a glass.

Tyler sat up, his face twisting. "Hey, don't touch-"

"Hold on, I'm teaching!" Brendon yelled out with his head stuck in the fridge.

Tyler sat back down in his seat with a huff, not noticing the way the corners of Josh mouth were upturning just slightly at him.

The dark haired man came back with a tall wine glass filled with orange juice and a dark blue mug with leftover coffee from earlier that morning. He slid the mug to Tyler and the glass to Josh.

"Okay, I want you guys to sit up and relax your body."

The two men glanced at each other warily before shifting their bodies upright, Josh stretching out his shoulders and Tyler nervously mirroring him.

"When I ask you guys a question, I want you to answer me verbally, okay?" Brendon said, authority suddenly coming across his tone and straightening up his posture. The two men both nodded and Brendon smiled.

"Look at your cup. Look at the size. The depth of it, how tall it is. It's color, shape. Is their any design? Describe it to me."

There was a minute of silence, both a bit unsure of what the point of any of this was, but the two men simply shrugged eventually and stared at their cups.

"Tall." Josh said first, eyes on his crystalline wine glass. "Clear. Glass. Curved." Josh's gaze flitted between the glass and Brendon. "Uh, long stem." He cleared his throat softly.

"Good job, Josh, that's good." He smiled.

Brendon's gaze shifted over and Tyler's heartbeat spiked with a sort of fear he didn't think he'd felt since high school, like the teacher had called on him and he hadn't been paying attention. Brendon's eyes met his. "Tyler." He said with a nod, prompting him to go next.

The brunet's gaze quickly flitted back to the mug on the table. "Um. Blue." He stared at the cup. "Wide." He said nervously, trying not to wince at his uncertainty over the simplistic answers.

"Good. Don't think that hard about it. Just tell me whatever comes to mind." Brendon smiled softly.

The teacher version of Brendon seemed much more encouraging than Tyler was used to and could maybe even come off as nice and educated. Very different to the loud, flirty alcoholic he was used to seeing whenever he came by the house to see Jenna.

"Now, pick up your cup. Tell me what you feel. How heavy is it? Run your hands along it. Are there any grooves or chips in it? What is it made of?" He listed off the questions slowly, giving them enough time to think about them.

Tyler tried going first. "Uh h-heavy. No grooves. Made of ceramic. It's smooth."

"A bit light." Josh echoed his answers after Tyler finished. "Smooth, thin glass."

Brendon continued. "Now, what's its temperature. Is it warm, cold? Is there steam or condensation? Are different parts of the cup cooler or warmer than others?"

They went back and forth, both answering the next questions softly, their confidence building a bit as the exercise seemed simple enough.

"Now I want you guys to bring your glass to your face. How does it smell? Then sip your drink." The men did what was asked of them as Brendon continued.

"It's cold. Smells liked ground coffee. Sounds... like I'm drinking it." Tyler laughed nervously. "Its tastes old, strong and bitter."

Josh nodded along to him. "Tangy, sweet. Smells like citrus. I don't, I don't really know what it sounds like." He said, eyes showing the bit of anxiousness that had caused his moody attitude to fade.

"That's okay." Brendon assured him. "Now set your glasses down and turn your chairs to face each other." He instructed.

Both men's actions immediately turned slower and more cautious, their eyes meeting and confusion knitting their eyebrows. Cups were set down carefully as chairs squeaked against the dark wooden floor. Josh's heart pumped, unsure of where Brendon was going with his lesson.

"Now we're going to do the exact same exercise. Just now, with each other." Brendon said slowly.

"W-What?" Josh tried to laugh, but his eyes were in immediate accusation towards his friend.

Brendon ignored him as he set another kind smile on his face. "Now a person has a lot more to describe than a mug of coffee so I want you guys to sit up, and relax. Face each other, look each other in the eye."

Josh's eyes fluttered his gaze away from Brendon and moved it to Tyler's nervous form. The man had his hands set on the knees of his dark grey dress pants, eyes trying their best to appear like the calm and collected businessman he was.

Josh suddenly felt inferior, self conscious about lounging in his sweatpants and ridiculous bubblegum pink hoodie that made him seem like a little kid in comparison to Tyler's professional attire. He gulped, sitting up and trying to keep his eyes trained on the man's forehead so he wouldn't have to make eye contact.

"Look at the person in front of you." Brendon said softly. "Look at their body. Do they look tall? Shorter maybe? What kind of skin tone do they have? Do they have any birthmarks or tattoos?"

Both men could hear the ringing silence in their ears, now neither one of them wanting to say anything about the other's appearance first.

Brendon's looked between the two of them. "It's the same exercise as before. We're only changing the thing you're describing." Brendon said, trying to ease some of the tension out of the room.

It was quiet for a few more beats before Tyler said, "Muscular." His gaze directly on Josh.

Tyler blinked a few times, realizing that he had just said the first thing that came to mind when he looked at the curly haired man. _Stupid._

He could see that Josh was trying not to seem fazed, just nodding along and trying to be helpful by keeping his face blank for Tyler to assess. It was no use, as Tyler was gulping down embarrassment and trying to stop the uncontrollable heat flushing his cheeks from rising faster.

"Uh, t-tall." He breathed quietly, trying his best to continue while the growing lump of anxiety was forming in his throat.

Tyler suddenly looked down, unable to keep his gaze locked with Josh's for any longer, knowing the nervous scarlet blush on his cheeks was only darkening the longer he stared at the other man. Tyler was normally very good at appearing indifferent, but his childish reflex from his youth was something that was always able to give him away.

"I'm, I'm sorry." He stuttered with a nervous smile towards the ground. "W-What were the questions?"

Brendon smiled, a bit of his usual wolfish grin peaking out between his lips. "It's alright. What kind of skin tone do they have? Do they have any birthmarks or tattoos you can see?"

Tyler took a breath, trying to give his reddened cheeks a moment to cool down from embarrassment before slowly trailing his eyes around the outline of Josh's body again. Most of the man was covered up. Tyler could really only see a bit of his collarbones, his hands, then his face and neck.

"Okay." He breathed. "Pale. A little tan maybe." He shrugged a bit. "I don't think I can see anything else." Tyler said, pleading for Brendon to let this awkward exchange be finished.

Brendon smiled forgivingly, nodding. "Alright. Josh?"

Josh took the same steadying breath that Tyler did before looking at the man. "Tall. Slim. Tanned. He has three lines tattooed on his left wrist."

Tyler blinked, startled at the quick words listed off. His eyebrows furrowing as he looked down to his wrists out of shock, checking if they were exposed. He looked back up at Josh in disbelief, seeing that they weren't.

"Good." Brendon nodded. "Now focus on the person's face and their hair. What color is it? Curly, straight? What's the shape of their face? Do they have any defining features?" Brendon said slowly, letting them mull over the questions and each others faces.

Josh nodded along. "Light brown hair. Straight and fluffy. The type that's really messy in the morning." He smiled.

Tyler let out a short chuckle at that, bringing his gaze down.

"He kinda has a pointy chin." Josh finished with a grin.

Tyler sat back in his chair, arms crossed. "Dark hair. Curly. Big head."

Josh giggled at his description of him, making the brunet split a grin.

The raven haired man was keeping a close watch on Tyler and Josh's responses and interactions, gaging progress and how comfortable they were. Brendon smiled, noticing the energy in the room shift. It was getting easier for them.

"Keep looking at all of their facial features. What color are their eyes? What's the shape of their nose, their lips? Do they have acne, freckles, dimples? Facial hair?"

The brief laughter died down quickly, Josh clearing his throat and locking eyes with Tyler again, both of them still having a smile on their face.

"Dark eyes." Josh spoke softly. "Defined nose. Sharp. Full lips." He blinked, trying to keep their gazes locked and not make the situation awkward. "He has dimples when he smiles."

There was a beat of silence, Tyler drinking in all of the things Josh had already noticed about him before he spoke.

"Brown eyes, like coffee. He has a nose that's big but it works on him. Like you can see the bones that shape it and he looks like, like a real American boy with it." Tyler spoke thoughtfully, riding along with his little bout of honesty.

This was fine, he thought. It was only an exercise. He wasn't going to be weird about it if Josh seemingly wasn't going to. The words weren't supposed to matter to either of them, so it didn't matter what they said— and whether or not they really meant it.

"Pink lips. He has a five o' clock shadow." Tyler said with a smile.

Brendon straightened up. "Okay, now I want you guys to stand up."

Both men looked at him, a bit confused but did what was asked.

"Remember this is the same exercise as before." He reminded them. "I want you to reach out and just hold each others hands. Just feel what its like. How tight is the grip? What their skin feels like, how heavy their hand is in yours." Brendon explained slowly.

Heart beats quickened their pace as they looked at each other, the instruction loud in their ears.

Josh reached his hand out lowly, letting his open palm face Tyler. Not wanting to seem too fazed by it, Tyler quickly went and brushed their fingers together before he laced their hands. Josh's knuckles knocked against his and they let their hands hang like a weak tether between them.

Neither of them said anything, just looked at each other like they already forgot what to do next.

Brendon looked at them with calculating eyes. "Well c'mon. Describe it." He encouraged.

"Oh, uh." Tyler cleared his throat. "Kinda rough. Some callouses, um-" Tyler tapped a spot on Josh's palm with his thumb. "There."

Tyler kept his eyes down, not moving his gaze from their joined hands. Josh's fingers were larger than his, and they held onto him confidently, like he was proud.

"He's warm." Tyler whispered, eyes still stuck on their hands. He heard Josh chuckle quietly.

"Good to know I'm still alive." Josh said in amusement, his lips quirked up and eyes scrunching. The creases around his eyes when he smiled was something Tyler hadn't noticed before but  _certainly_  was noticing right now.

Josh cleared his throat, looking down at their hands like Tyler did. Tyler noticed that Josh had begun humming softly as he thought. The businessman only smiled at the innocent sounds.  _Damn_ , Tyler thought. The man was just so _likable._

"Hands are kinda dry, but they're okay. His hand's a little lighter than mine. It's gentle." Josh said, shrugging.

Brendon smiled, nodding with satisfaction. "Okay, good. You can let each other go now."

Tyler blinked at the man in front of him.  _Gentle._

His small grin, his attempt at trying to relieve the ever present awkwardness. The curls that fell against his face, framing the wrinkles now known to form in the corners of his eyes. If anything, Josh was gentle, not him and anyone watching could've seen Tyler's eyes glaze over with fondness.

He felt the grip on him loosen, and his weak hand fell through Josh's. Tyler blinked his way back to his senses, wiping his hand on his pant leg as he shook his head. _Guard. Up. Don't make it weird._

Brendon kept his tone even as he spoke. "Now, I want you guys to take a step closer to each other."

Tyler's jaw clenched but he took the step anyways, looking Josh straight in the eyes. He shouldn't have been as afraid of being close to him as he was.

"And one more." Brendon continued.

Tyler grit his teeth through a breath as his movements stuttered. He took a breath before he took the step and glanced down to see that they were so close, the toes of their shoes were touching.

He looked up. Now, Tyler could see.

He could see the sun kissed freckles that were dotted all over Josh's face. The sunshine in his brown eyes. He could follow down the bridge of his nose and see the little height of his cheekbones. The small bits of stubble that were just barely poking through the skin from his morning shave.

Tyler caught Josh's gaze after a moment, his jaw instantly clenching again.

He kept  _doing it_.

The brunet took a breath, trying to get his head level again. He needed to stop getting so caught up in  _whatever_  this all was.

Tyler needed to stop thinking about Josh and just worry about what he was doing. This was all supposed to be helping him after all.

Brendon's voice cut through the noise, pulling him away from his thoughts. "I wanted you guys this close so you could smell each other." Brendon finished uneasily. "I know it sounds strange, but it's important. You have to be aware of all the little things like that, they have a lot to do with your guys' chemistry."

Both men turned their heads slowly, looking at Brendon strangely. The raven haired man sighed, rolling his eyes.

"Can you guys just trust me?" He asked plainly.

Tyler bit the inside of his lip, the man beside him taking a breath.

"Yeah. Let's do it." Josh breathed, squaring his shoulders. He looked and sounded like he was trying to convince himself too, not just Tyler, that it was a good idea. "For the chemistry." He nodded.

"God I hated chemistry." Tyler sighed.

"Who didn't?" Josh chuckled.

Josh gave him a smile and Tyler couldn't help but notice that Josh was being encouraging again without meaning to.

Tyler closed his eyes, nodding. "Yeah, okay."

He opened his eyelids, but kept his gaze on the toes of their shoes as he leaned a bit closer. Tyler tried to slow his breathing as he stood still, waiting for Josh to get the message that he was going to have to go first.

Soon enough, he felt the side of Josh's head make contact against his neck, gentle and firm, like Josh had been floating mindlessly and had bumped into Tyler by mistake. His breath came softly onto the businessman's neck and Tyler would be lying if he said he didn't feel a shiver ripple down his shoulder blade at the feeling.

Tyler slowly moved his head in the same way, nudging the top of his head into Josh's jawline and not coming in quite as close as the other man had, still trying to play it a little bit safe. But still, he breathed in softly.

Josh's cologne was strong. It was deep like smoke and amber, intense and masculine. Tyler couldn't help his eyelids from fluttering closed cause  _goddamn_ did Josh smell good. He inhaled again, hearing Josh echo his breaths in his ears. Everything felt calm.

"Okay," Brendon's voice softly opened Tyler's eyes again. "How is it? Floral, woodsy? Strong or subtle?"

Tyler gulped, pulling away first. He cleared his throat, watching Josh's eyes dart on the floor as he wiped his hands on his pants.

"Uhh." Josh mumbled, keeping his gaze low and scratching behind his ear.

Tyler quirked a smile, honestly kind of curious as to what Josh would say about him.

"He smells.." Josh's eyes searched the floor for an answer and Tyler felt his grin widen.

"Do I smell like I stepped in dog shit or something?" He laughed.

Josh finally looked up, his eyes widened. "No, no, no of course not!"

Tyler let out a laugh before quickly trying to make a frown and pretending to check the bottom of his shoe.

Josh immediately looked apologetic, and anxious to prove Tyler wrong. "No, trust me. You smell  _really_ good." He assured. "Like," He sighed.

The man raised his arms, waving them around and collecting words as they came to him. "Like when it rains in the middle of the night." He decided.

Josh quickly furrowed his brows. "But really expensive rain. And it also rained on like an orchard too. And the rain's like, really-" Josh rambled, breathing out his answer and making Tyler smile even more.

"-like the rain's really just expensive watered down vanilla extract." Josh finished, nodding, his hands on his hips. "And also leather. Like the vanilla rain got all over the leather seats of a Lamborghini."

"Did it now?" Tyler chuckled, running his tongue along the inside of his lower lip. Watching Josh stumble around his words was ridiculously adorable, and sweet once you realized that everything he said was from a nervous bout of pure honesty. It was a nice change from Tyler doing it so much.

"Yeah." Josh nodded. "Cause the owner forgot to roll up the windows before he went inside. And now there's rain everywhere. All over the seats."

Tyler's smile was splitting his face as Josh sounded out of breath from his explanation.

"Well Josh, you really are Shakespeare reincarnated aren't you?" Brendon sighed, rolling his eyes. "Tyler? You think you can beat that fucking soliloquy Josh just said?"

Tyler chuckled, shaking his head. "Definitely not." He smiled. "Though, it was certainly appreciated."

Tyler watched as a soft red bloomed on the apples of Josh's cheeks, his disheveled hair coming down in messy heaps across his forehead. He couldn't help the wide grin that was hurting his face.

"Josh smells.." Tyler sucked at his bottom lip again. "Really good. Like a real. Man."

Brendon huffed. "Eloquent as ever, Tyler." He muttered, standing up from the seat he'd taken, clearly becoming exhausted with the two. Now that they had gotten used to the game, they were having enough fun to annoy Brendon with their answers.

"You know!" Tyler tried again. "He smells like the woods and stuff! Like wrestling bears and drinking whiskey neat. All that guy stuff."

"God, who are you, Jane Austen, Tyler? Guys do other things now, stop putting them in a box!" Brendon argued tiredly.

"Brendon!" Tyler whined

"Whatever," Brendon sighed, rubbing his temples. "lets just finish this."

Brendon ran a hand through his sculpted hair, eyes opening and becoming more cautious.

"Now, the last part of this exercise is something you guys have done before." Brendon started slowly.

Tyler breath strained just enough for him to notice it, trying not to assume what the man was getting at.

"Sure, you guys obviously don't have to do anything you don't want to, but just keep in mind that this is all for practice." Brendon reassured calmly.

"What is it?" Josh asked, voice rough.

Brendon voiced his next thought carefully. "I want you guys to kiss. But I want you to focus on the feeling this time. Find a rhythm that works, go slow if you have to, that's fine. You need to become comfortable enough that you can describe to me how it feels to kiss the other person."

Somehow, Tyler's heart became the only thing he could hear as it beat twice as loud in his ears. Josh's eyes were locked with his, chest moving slowly as he breathed. The man was just as surprised as he was but almost seemed eager, like he was only waiting to see what Tyler was going to say.

"We don't have to if you don't want to." Josh said first, his voice awash in that sweet and understanding tone he had when he spoke, brown eyes bright with their warmth that was already making Tyler want to say that it was okay.

Brendon looked warily between them. "We're doing this exercise just so you guys can begin to have these experiences. So you can have these memories to hone in on, so you'll know what to do when you guys are in public."

Tyler took a breath, nodding. It wasn't a big deal. They had done it before.

"Okay." He whispered, only to Josh.

"Go slow." Was a reminder in Brendon's voice that slowly faded as Tyler stared onward at Josh. He felt small. He had his eyes rolled up to the man like he was a wounded animal and didn't know if Josh would cause him help or harm.

"You're sure?" Josh's soft voice came through the vacuum of silence Tyler had created in his head. The concern was evident in the words. Tyler's ears hurt.

The businessman nodded, untrusting of his voice and suddenly feeling self conscious of every single aspect of his mouth. Tyler subconsciously went to lick his lips, already afraid that they were too dry.

Josh went slow, keeping his eyes low and on Tyler the whole time. It was only them, and it was just about them.

Tyler didn't know what he was going to feel, but he already knew that he liked that. He liked that Josh made him feel special.

Tyler felt fingers on his arm, gripping below his elbow and pulling him closer. Josh's golden eyes were connected with his and Tyler's chest was tight from how weakly his breath was coming past his lips, not even noticing the way he was trying to hold it.

Josh leaned, his breath ghosting over Tyler's red lips for only a moment before their mouthes were pressed together. Tyler's eyes shut, his other arm reaching out blindly and timidly brushing Josh's waist, clutching it firmly once his fingers found it.

They both sighed against one another and Tyler felt Josh's fingers press more firmly into his arm, like he was holding back and trying to compensate. Tyler knew he wanted Josh so much, so much closer than he was right now, but even now while they kissed, he couldn't bring himself to so much as touch the other man's face. The most he could do was slowly move his left arm to lightly rest on Josh's chest. It was a little better, but Tyler could barely call it improvement.

Then, he felt Josh's tongue dart out, swiping the inside of his bottom lip. It was so quick, it had to be accidental, like Josh's wall of restraint had wavered for only part of a moment. To be honest, Tyler probably imagined it.

However, it didn't stop him from pulling their warm lips apart, taking the shortest breath of his life, and slotting them back together with more confidence than before. Josh kissed him back harder as his other arm came to press against Tyler's lower back. The brunet sighed against him in relief, feeling just that fraction of a bit closer.

Josh's hoodie was balled up in the fist Tyler still couldn't bring himself to move to the man's face, his breath coming in and out of his nose quickly. He soon felt Josh restrain again, dragging his lips as he pulled away before planting a more firm, deliberate kiss on Tyler's mouth.

Tyler felt himself relax, opening his palm on Josh's chest as the curly haired man pulled away for the last time, going back to how they started; hearts beating fast and breaths brushing against each others' lips.

Josh's forehead laid against his and all other movements besides breathing stilled, arms frozen in their places. Tyler didn't open his eyes for what felt like a while. He felt dizzy. His face was heating quickly the longer he stood there, already sure his ears were beginning to burn red at the tips.

When he cracked his eyelids open, he only stared down at Josh's chest, not wanting to see how Josh was looking at him but also dying to know.

Breathing returned to normal, Tyler lifted his head and Josh had stepped back. Tyler finally dredged up the courage to look Josh in the eye, a deep breath taken before he did, but only to find that Josh was already looking at Brendon.

Tyler felt his tongue lick his wet lips absentmindedly, mind racing as he waited for Josh to say something.

He was so  _warm_. That thought was once again pulsing alongside the anxiety in the back of Tyler's mind. His mouth, his hands, his breath. It was like he was made of it because everywhere that Josh touched him, warmth seemed to surge through. Tyler's body was cooling—elbows, hips, and any other place Josh's fingers had traced— but his face was still hot from the interaction altogether.

"Was that okay?" He heard Josh ask.

Tyler started nodding instinctively because  _yes_ , whatever he was feeling  _had_  to be okay. But once he started following Josh's line of sight, he realized Josh wasn't talking to him but to Brendon. Tyler's neck went rigid.

"Well, that's more of a question I should be asking." Brendon chuckled. "How did it feel?" He asked gently.

Tyler immediately gulped, unable to keep his eyes off of Josh. The man glanced at him, chest still moving noticeably. Tyler felt a knot in his throat.

"It was. Good." Josh whispered.

Tyler hated to admit it, but he actually let out a quiet sigh of relief. At least he didn't hate it.

"C'mon, Josh." Brendon chuckled. "You know the drill by now."

Tyler waited, startled eyes set on Josh. He watched the man's eyes shift around parts of his body and then onto the floor as he thought of descriptors. The businessman hated feeling so self conscious, like  Josh was picking him apart piece by piece without opening his mouth.

"I dunno." Josh said finally. "I just," He finally lifted his eyes to meet Tyler's gaze. "I liked kissing you." He shrugged.

"If it's okay, I really don't want to dissect every part of it, that feels weird." He said gently, laughing quietly at the end.

Brendon sensed the unease, the sudden apprehension and nodded. "Okay." He said with a smile.

Tyler was surprised that Brendon wasn't pushing him about it and was actually laying off for once. His eyes lingered on Josh's form, wondering what he was thinking.

Brendon turned to him. "How do you feel, Tyler?"

The brunet was unprepared, eyes darting at first before he looked to Josh. The man's eyes were back on the ground, fingers fidgeting at his sides.

"Yeah." He nodded, watching Josh. "It was good."

There was the smallest shift, the slight upturning of Josh's lips, before he finally looked up. The corners of his mouth stretched wider, slowly like the sun rising.

Tyler felt relief, watching the curly haired man's nerves begin to dissipate. He smiled back, thinking. _Two days._ Two days and Tyler was already getting pretty good at not being able to keep his eyes off of Josh. But maybe he thought, that would prove to be a good thing for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (moved, rehearsals, grades, applied for summer things, performed a musical, got the flu, recorded a soundtrack, hate everything i do, happy i finally finished this chpt and published it.)
> 
> theres a lil recap for why i was gone for so long. apologies. this is the first break ive gotten in the past four months. it still doesnt really feel like one. but i hope this was okay and that you guys liked it. im sorry if it isnt up to par but i NEEDED to get this out there in the universe for yall to read. there are so many more things i want to write and improve upon. 
> 
> i love you bruvs. so much. thank you for stickin with me. i hope you know how much i appreciate it. stay safe and stay saucy.


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